Olympics, music, and life

February 27, 2006 at 8:43 AM

I rarely watch TV. A few years ago, I had to call my ex-boyfriend and ask him how to turn it on. Last week was different. I watched the Olympics for a couple of hours – something I had never done before. I was impressed with the strength, skill, and gracefulness of the athletes. There were several athletes who flubbed their first one or two events and then went on to win a gold medal. The newscasters interviewed some of these Olympians, and they all said almost the same thing. “I didn’t think about messing up earlier. I just focused on skiing/skating the very best I could.” Then I thought of something by Wynton Marsalis, the great trumpeter and educator, which I read recently. “Never quit. Don’t adjust your philosophy to your limitations or failures.” I’m so aware of my limitations and failures. Some times I get really down on myself, and sometimes I’m determined to do keep doing something until I do it right or do it the best I can. It’s important to keep trying to do things the very best you can. It’s important to “never quit.”