There was something so incredibly powerful about the Paralympics experience. I guess partly because we did not know what to expect. When we booked our tickets to the events, we did it because we really wanted to see the aquatic centre and the stadium. We had managed to get some tickets via some friends to the Olympics and had such an amazing time we wanted more and managed to get ourselves some Paralympics tickets.
It was quite a different experience...
The great thing about it was that you were not just witnessing a sporting event. There was so much happening around the event itself. You got to see the relationship between the guides, minders, coaches and the athletes and how they managed themselves. For example, when athletes without arms came out to swim - how they took off their outer layers, how they got out of the pool. Things we take for granted. Or how minders lifted paralysed athletes in and out of the pool. Minders are ready with wheelchairs and prosthetic legs at the poolside. It was a real eye opener. One thing that stuck me the most was how in one moment, these athletes have to be the great person with all that believe in themselves to go for gold, and in the next moment, how they have to let someone help them. You just have to let your ego go and trust and accept the help of the support around you. It was all very dignified and the relationships around them was a beautiful thing to see.
The crowds were also AMAZING. The stadium was completely packed and so we know it is around 80,000 people. The energy - I cannot describe. It fills every atom in the body. The cheer at the Paralympics was also different. It felt like a cheer for the human spirit. For hope. For grace. It touches you to tears!
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And when it had sunk in, it occurred to me that actually, we all have (or think we have) "limitations" on some level. When you see these guys, you realize where your limitations really are and how much easier it is to manage it. It is really about how much of it you are willing to embrace so that you may shine your brightest light.
This Olympics has left me a legacy for sure!
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