Chassidic Olympics

I don't know how many of been keeping track, but me being in a hotel and all with tes-vov machines all over, i can't avoid it.
Yep, it's that time of year again: the Olympics!!!

See, the Olympics is really something very huge in the outside world, and i think that even though the Rebbe was so against it and all cuz it's avodah zara, etc., i think the fact that i've seen it means there's gotta be something we can learn from it.

So now I'll tell you what i learned from it:

Making it into the Olympics is really no simple feat. It's not like a contest for people to show off what they already know how to do - like Bais Rivkah winning the chidon at BY convention every year - but it's something that needs a lifetime, or at least many many years, of preparation.
Take gymnastics for example. A girl that is going for the gymnastics medal in the Olympics has got to be really good. really really good. Their body needs to be totally flexible, their balance perfect, their concentration complete, and their technique beautiful if they are to have even a chance at winning.

Ok, fine. So they need to practice. Hard.

But that's not all. If you look a little closer at the faces of these athletes (which the cameras certainly do!), there is a certain single-minded, even fierce, determination to do it perfectly right. Sometimes you can read on the face of a ten-year-old girl how important the competition is to her... that it is something she has worked for for months and years. Because once they have set their goal, their entire life is dedicated to that purpose. Their diets are limited and modified to include only foods that would be good for them, and they spent countless hours working out and practicing. Sometimes, it seems they have no other life other than the Olympics, as often when other children are in school, they are busy practicing at home. They cannot afford to waste time on nonsense, and every vacation is planned around their practices. It's a life's work, and something these people take very seriously.

WELL... i was thinking that the same really applies to us. Lehavdil elef havdalos - we also know what our purpose in life is, and it is much different than that of all the other goyim in the world who just have to enjoy their lives in the fullest possible measure. Boruch Hashem! We know what we are supposed to do, and we are also given precise instructions as to what things are conducive to fulfilling that goal. All that's left for us is to stop fooling around and take it seriously... before every minute, every bite, and every step we should think about whether it is something that is good for us or maybe not. And we can all think of examples where this applies.

So good luck and remember - being a gymnast is no easy feat, but when the medal is won, it's totally worth it!!