When I saw these these tree crowns that were illuminated by the rising sun this morning, I thought again about the pinnacles of Olympians.
I wonder what it is like to be an Olympic gold medal winner, after all of the media attention dies down.
Charlie White and Meryl Davis won the Olympic gold in Sochi, in Ice Dancing. They have been Ice Dance partners for 17 years, since Meryl was age 10, and Charlie, 9. Like any professional athletes, they have an intense training schedule. It’s their job, of course.
Right after their win, Charlie said that they had trained for winning the medal, but they hadn’t trained for the moment after the win.
I’m guessing that he was referring specifically to the immediate media onslaught that happens post-win. However, I am curious about what it is like to have trained nearly every day of your life for years, with that Olympic gold medal in mind (it was the primary goal they were shooting for) and then, you’ve done it.
Then what?
And that is exactly what everyone is asking Charlie and Meryl.
I haven’t heard anyone encourage Not Knowing, although that is the answer that they have been giving to the press. We don’t know. We’re going to take some time to think about it.
I’m curious about how much permission they are giving themselves to really be immersed in Not Knowing, and Not Having to Know. I hope it is a lot.
Our cultural mainstream message is something to the effect that you need to know, to have a plan about where you are going next, and what the next goal is, or, at the very least, what direction you are heading in.
And yet there is tremendous power in completely clearing a space out to truly Not Know. Like a white board, with nothing on it. Sometimes we are surprised at what shows up when we do that.
It takes incredible courage to stay in Not Knowing, until you Know. Luckily, Olympians have bucketloads of courage. Many blessings to Meryl and Charlie on their next journeys, whatever they may be.
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