Remaining true to their calling is no easy task. As sojourners travelling along a long and winding road, many face all kinds of challenges, some life-threatening like what happened in Tony Pua's case and others may be more of emotional turbulence. Whatever the case, perseverance is the key.
This evening, while I was trying to select a topic for blogging, I saw the Facebook update of a friend (M. F. Christopher) featuring a video clip of Derek Redmond. I had a real teary reaction and when my boy heard me sniffing away, he stood beside me and together we watched the end of that touching video clip taken at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
According to Wikipedia, Derek Anthony Redmond (born 3 September 1965, in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, England) is a retired British athlete. During his career, he held the British record for the 400 metres sprint, and won gold medals in the 4x400 metres relay at the World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
However his career was blighted by a series of injuries, and he is best remembered for his performance at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where he tore his hamstring in the 400 metres semi-final but fought through the pain and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. The incident has become a well-remembered moment in Olympic history, having been the subject of one of the International Olympic Committee's 'Celebrate Humanity' videos and been used in advertisements by Visa as an illustration of the Olympic spirit and featured in Nike's "Courage" commercials in 2008.
Be inspired by this video clip. Perseverance is the key and we must never give up no matter how dark the day! Take care and have a lovely evening. Next post will be up just after dinner. Cheers!
Anonymous You know, if you watch this clip with several others, you will see different reactions. I’ll categorize them as follows:
The Compassionate
Like you, they will have tears in their eyes as they listen to the carefully chosen and meaningful song as they watch a fallen hero struggling to complete his race which meant so much to him and country. They will feel the anguish and the pain of the athlete and enjoin the roaring crowd cheering him on as they salute his courage and perseverance as he hobbled to the finishing line.
The Indifferent
They will be some, where the soulful lyrics of the song, or the words on the screen, mean nothing…no sadness…no empathy…no tears. “It’s just a clip about someone I don’t even know. So what’s the big fuss?” “Mum! Is dinner ready yet?”
The Moronic
“Stupid fool! He shouldn’t be running after he tore his hamstring!” “Daddy, why is he stopping?” “They should not have allowed the father to be on the pitch!” “Serve him right! He should have been more careful!” “Wow! He’s so handsome!”
And of course…there’s UMNO.
StraightTalking