If I Could Reach Higher
 
by Paul Mauchline

This week my eyes, along with countless millions of others around the globe, have been focused on Sydney, Australia for the XXVII Olympic Games.
 
Sports have never excited me much, at all, in my entire life. You will never see Monday Night Football, baseball, basketball, or hockey on my television set. Maybe, now and then, I'll watch World Cup Soccer. However, in small doses, The Olympic Games is the exception to this rule for me.
 
I am not interested, per se, in the actual different sporting events of the Olympic Games. Rather, I am drawn to the competitors and the unique stories of their rise to Olympic status. I watch, with admiration, as these young athletes compete with others from around the world to reach for their dream of Gold. They have been training, long and hard, in their particular event for most of their lives, and training even more intensively these past four years leading up to the Games.
 
I have seen more sporting events in this past week than I have in the past four years since the close of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Why do I really watch, you might ask? I love to watch individuals reaching for their dreams. It is inspirational for me, as a person, to watch these young men and women truly putting forth every effort to achieve their dreams. They inspire me, as an individual, to reach higher in fulfilling my own dreams.
 
There are, and there will be, many stories and memories from these Olympic Games in Australia. Many come to my mind right now, such as the determination, relentless training, teamwork, and support of a small town that enabled the Romanians to bring home the Gold, both individually and as a team, in the women's gymnastics competition. Though, for me, I would have to say that, truly, the one face I will always remember is that of Marion Jones, track and field athlete from the United States. Up until this week, I had never heard of Marion Jones. Earlier this week, I watched a biography of this young woman's life-long struggle to get to the Olympics. Two days later, she was center stage in the eyes of the world as she prepared for her first Olympic Event, the Women's 100 Meter Run. My eyes also were fixed on her as she prepared to begin her event. During the preparations for the race, my mind journeyed back four years to the closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Atlanta. That evening, as we viewed a collage of highlights from those XXVI Olympic Games, singer Gloria Estefan sang a song that she had written called "Reach." I would like to share the lyrics of Gloria's song that were playing in my mind as Marion prepared to go after her first Olympic Gold medal.
 
Some dreams live on in time forever
These dreams, you want with all your heart
 
And I'll do whatever it takes
 
Follow through with the promise I made
 
Put it all on the line
 
What I hoped for at last would be mine
 
If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be stronger
Know that I've tried my very best
I'd put my spirit to the test
If I could reach
 
Some days are meant to be remembered
Those days we rise above the stars
 
So I'll go the distance this time
Seeing more the higher I climb
 
That the more I believe
All the more that this
Dream will be mine
 
If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be stronger
Know that I've tried my very best
I'd put my spirit to the test
If I could reach
 
If I could reach, higher
Just for one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I'm gonna be stronger
I'm gonna be so much stronger
Yes I am
 
I put my spirit to the test
 
If I could reach, higher
If I could, if I could
If I could reach
Reach, I'd reach, I'd reach
I'd reach, I'd reach so
much higher
be stronger
 
As I watched Marion, I admired her composure, and that ever-present smile to us all. As I watched the false starts and regrouping to begin the race, what I saw in Marion was confidence, concentration, discipline, patience, faith, and love... all of which, I am sure, she has practiced her entire life.
 
Marion did, indeed, reach higher with all her heart. She followed through with her promise, and put it all on the line to realize her dream of Gold at the Olympics. She was strong and put her spirit to the test. She climbed higher that evening than she ever had gone before in her life. She believed in herself, and went the distance, to reach her dream.
 
As she crossed the finish line, victorious, she beamed that infectious smile we all have grown to love. What I witnessed, and what radiated from her, was love. Love is what I have seen so many times in the Olympics. Love is what attracts me to watch athletes like Marion compete. I wish to be present, in the moment, to see these athletes' love for themselves, their family, friends, team mates, coaches, and the rest of us in the world.
 
Marion Jones, thank you for setting an example and inspiring us all to reach higher for our dreams, and, more importantly, to reach higher for love.
 
Copyright © 2000-2001. All rights reserved. Paul Mauchline