Olympics and Gardening, what you say?

My philosophical take on Olympics.
Anyone that planted a garden this spring here in Michigan has had some sort of surprise. The early warm spell followed by freezing temperatures and then the hot dry weather of summer has caused all sorts of challenges. When to water, how much to water, where are the pollinating bees? No matter what I do how come the beans don't grow? Why are those cute little rabbits and ground hogs performing their own harvest of my veggies? I can only attempt to imagine how these conditions affect those farmers who depend on crops for a living. A friend who raises "grass fed" cattle to augment his income is bringing them to slaughter several months and a few hundred pounds early because without rain there is no grass to feed them. A loss of thousands of dollars. Multiply that into unimaginable costs for a full time rancher or farmer. Billions of dollars across the country. They'll make it through somehow, they've done it before, they are stubborn, hard working and resilient. It won't be easy but they will. And that is my point.

During this time of Olympic competition I am constantly reminded lately of what it takes to overcome and conquer the opposition. Olympians usually require training throughout their lives, constantly moving toward the next goal to gain the strength to persevere and win against the odds. (wasn't there a movie about that a while ago?) It is never more evident than at the world games just starting. Going full circle here: it is the constant battle of unexpected challenges that tests our mettle and brings us to succeed in our every day lives. If our lives run smoothly, as nice as that may sound, we learn nothing really. We watch the Olympics and cheer, yet we are surrounded by people who every day overcome obstacles just to get through the day. Strong people, brave people, determined, unselfish people of character who strive to make this a better world. Sometimes we forget them because they don't wear bikini's and play beach volleyball or grease up for swimming or jump higher than anyone else. We meet them every day, they are all around us.

I enjoy the Olympics. They remind me of the struggles we all face. When it comes to winning or losing, that's the way life is. Score: beans-0  zucchini-a gazillion