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The Magic Torch

Mon, 11/02/2009 - 18:27 — office

In photo:  Alexandre Despatie, Silken Laumann, William and Kate

The biggest thrill in carrying the Olympic Flame as one of Canada’s first runners (ok, walkers) was having my kids on the Legislature lawns watching on. Actually screaming is a better word, Kate was on my fiancé’s shoulders screaming “Go Mommy” as if I was competing in an Olympic final. It didn’t make me walk any faster. My old injury was a great excuse but really I just wanted to fully enjoy the thrill of actually carrying the Olympic flame and the energy of the crowd for the full two hundred metres.

William and Kate are the product of two Olympic athletes parents, so an interest in the Olympics would not be unusual. However, since Vancouver won the Olympic and Paralympic Games, my son William has been Olympics crazy.   He clung to me on Friday like Velcro, which for a twelve year old, was pretty endearing. It was only later I realized it wasn’t me he was clinging to, it was The Torch. “ Can we mount the Torch in my room” he asked the moment I walked in the door that night “ can I bring The Torch to school on Monday.” “It’s our Torch, right mommy.”  My daughter wanted this show and tell piece too, but my son was clear.  “Shoddy on the Torch” which in case you don’t know means—I called it.
 
And so this morning, I am thinking, is it possible that all the inspiration stuff I have always believed the Olympics can bring, is working on my son? Has he got Olympic Fever? What I know for sure is that there were hundreds of people of Friday that were moved to tears at seeing, carrying or cheering for The Torch. I talked to a woman who will be carrying the torch for a husband who had polio and was never able to run, I talked to young athletes who were chosen for their abilities and their potential, I spoke to random people who were simply moved to tears. This little flame represents something, and what I witnessed on Friday was a very public display of pride, and excitement and hope. That is the magic of The Torch. -- Silken

Photo Credit:  "Beth Hayhurst Photography"  www.bethhayhurst.com

What the Olympic Torch means to me

Mon, 11/02/2009 - 18:07 — office

In the photo - Simon Whitfield; Catriona Le May Doan; Alexandre Despatie, Silken Laumann

To me the Olympics are really simple. They are about young people who have found the courage to dream and put it all out there. Kids who one day were inspired by something and said “I want to do that.”  And by some miracle they started doing, and they found others to support their dream, to guide them. These athletes are consumed by their ambitions to become the best in the world at what they do. A sport as little known as Skeleton, or Rowing , or Short Track Speed Skating, captures their imagination and begins to shape their life.

The Olympics is the chance to pull it all together, to compete, just like at a world championships, only bigger, only harder because everybody is peaking for the same thing.
 
This is the passion I see in athletes like Alexandre Despatie who I carried the flame with on Friday, October 30, 2009. This is the sparkle I see in the young rowers eyes as they were passed the Torch by their heroes and role models, the gold medal men’s eight. This inspiration, handed down from one to another, is the real power of the Olympic Games. What we are passing on, through that Torch, is hope. Hope that we can work through our differences and truly begin to unite, hope that the dreams of our young people can be respected and realized, hope that whatever challenges lie ahead, humanity has what it takes to make it through.
 
That’s a lot for a little flame flowing through my hands last Friday. This is a pretty old flame, and it has come a long way to share its message. This little Greek flame will have 12,000 Canadians, running, wheeling, rowing and skiing it across the country, and for a minute, we can all share that hope and inspiration.  --Silken

Canadian Athletes Now Fund

Fri, 10/16/2009 - 21:34 — office

My friend Jane Roos asked me to contribute a painting to help raise money for The Canadian Athletes Now Fund.  This fund puts money directly in the pockets of Canada's finest, yet still struggling, athletes.  Despite Canada's international dominance in many sports, the athletes still struggle to heat their homes and keep up with their food bill (yes, many athletes do eat 6000-8000 calories a day).  Add travel and equipment costs on top of this and it is no wonder that many athletes leave sport because they simply can't afford to be an athlete anymore.  The Canadian Athletes Now Fund have contributed to athletes like Olympic Gold Medallist in Paddling Adam Van Koeverdan,  hurdler Perdita Felicien and many, many others.  Contributing to the Fund is one of the sure ways of helping athletes directly and supporting excellence. 
 
The name of the show and auction is called Talent Supporting Talent www.talentsupportingtalent.com and is now live for bidding.  You can see my 'masterpiece'  Lovetta on this sight.  I invite you all to have a look, have some fun and raise money for a great cause!  -Silken

 

Gift of Inner Discipline

Fri, 10/16/2009 - 21:27 — office

The idea of the "gift of inner discipline" struck me from the moment I saw the  words on Barbara Coloroso's book, Kids are Worth It.  Discipline may sound more like a yolk, or a shore but it is in fact, one of the greatest gifts we can possess in our arsenal of self development.
 
Discipline at first glance may not seem to be linked to creativity and passion, and yet I notice that the frequency of times that I experience passion and creativity are directly proportioned to the discipline I have in structuring time for these pursuits and creating disciplines in my life, that bring me my greatest clarity and energy.  It is difficult to get up at 5.30 am to practice yoga or power walk, and yet the discipline of rising each morning at this time, has created the space to explore my spirit and strengthen my body.  These in turn give me the energy to spend evenings painting and writing.  One is linked to the other.
 
The discipline to decline a dinner invitation in order to move further along a book I am writing feels like a hardship, but when after weeks of labouring I see a chapter emerge, the rewards are wonderful. 
 
I am very aware that we all have one life, and really, there isn't alot of time.  If I am going to write that book, exhibit those paintings, take that yoga class, I need to start creating time to do these things.  Discipline is the staunch, boring word that I consider an enormous gift in my life.
 

What question summons

Tue, 10/06/2009 - 17:13 — office

What is a question that summons you to be fearless? This is a question I was asked to ponder this past weekend, while at the Connecting for Change conference. The question itself reads a wee bit cryptic, “What is the question that summons you to be fearless?”   I stayed with it for a moment and this is what I wrote.

The question the summons me to be fearless is, “can I handle more failure?”    Failure beats me up for a while, it allows me to indulge my overdeveloped self-criticism muscle; it allows me to measure myself against standards that probably weren’t fair to begin with. I don’t like it, but can I handle more—of course I can.
 
Double false starting at the World Championships in 1994, taking a cold medication that cost me and my team a gold medal at the Pan American Games, putting enormous amounts of time, money and passion into Play 2010 an idea to work with the Olympics to improve the health and activity levels of kids and almost succeeding, the end of my marriage, failing to ever, ever get organized… shall I continue?
 
Can I handle more failure? I already know the answer, of course, don’t like it, don’t want it but it seems to come with this business called living. And the more truly engaged you are in that living the more failure you ultimately experience. So knowing the answer to this question summons me to be fearless, which I do not define as the absence of fear but courage in the face of fear. I can handle more failure, than I can take more risks. If I can handle more failure, I can continue to live deeply and boldly, and know that whatever failures and disappointments come along the way, I can handle.
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Olympic Blog Posts

As a former Olympian and one of Canada’s best-known personalities, Silken brought her unique perspective to her blog posts about the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Since the excitement of the Olympic Torch's arrival, (that's Silken in the photo, with her torch and her children, William and Kate) she blogged right through to the closing ceremonies. Read her first post here.

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