As the sun rises on this, the final day of the London Olympic celebrations, it serves as yet another reminder of the transience and fleeting nature of Life on Earth.  With the dawn on this last day, we realise how quickly these last two weeks have gone. It seems almost impossible that within a few short hours, all the glitz, all the glamour, all the trials and all the triumphs will be as formless as a mist, unfolding and disappearing into the history of our past for ever. 
And yet, so much has happened in that time!  Dreams have come true, and hopes have been realised. Commitment, (some might call it addiction) to the desire to be the best of the best, has led to much pain, tears and exhaustion. Those who have medals strung about their necks will know in their hearts their lives will never be quite the same again.  Those who walk away with only memories to hold, will hopefully in time, come to realise the important part they played in creating a spectacle that held the attention, respect and admiration of millions across our planet. 
As with so much in this life, whether it was good or not so good always comes down to a point of view.  There were those in floods of tears from the relief, happiness and joy at having won a medal - any medal - and there were those blissed-out at being able to perform in the stadium at all.  And then there were others, who perhaps failed to qualify for their final, or who missed out on the gold by a few fragments of a second, and it was their tears of bitter disappointment, that had them crushed in despair.  For some, even the silver medal is tainted with defeat.  
Is it possible we bring about our own level of happiness?
I believe we do. If we set ourselves a goal we do not reach, it is only us who gets to feel the pain of disappointment - it is our judgment of ourselves that hurts so much.  It is natural to feel unhappy after so much effort, but perhaps it is not so natural to allow it to consume us.  
All the peoples of all the nations who came to London in 2012, came because they were 'good enough'.
When they go home, medal holders or not, I hope they will reflect on this truth, and come to remember their true worth.   

Watching Michael Phelps and others win their olympic gold medals makes me thoroughly ashamed of myself. Their perseverance and commitment is awesome and commendable.  They won't have had it easy, they won't have simply turned up and swum the speedos off the opposition without having put themselves through years of intensive training and hardwork.  You can be sure they had bad days, difficult weeks, and months when things weren't going so well.  But did they give up and reach for the donuts?  Not likely.  They just dug in deeper, swum harder and focussed better. 
So why am I feeling so ashamed?  Basically because I traditionally give up as soon as someone says 'boo'.  I grab the towel, step out of the water, and scuttle back to bed. In other words, I cop out.
Why do I do that? Who cares... the point is I picked up self limiting beliefs somewhere along the line, and integrated them to such an extent I apply them to everything I do. They run my life script.
In order to be free of the shame (which is a very low vibration) one has to be rid of the self limiting beliefs that hold us back.  And that's the trick, isn't it?  Identifying those beliefs.  
All of us have these little maggots in the mind, wiggling about chewing off new thoughts and ambitions as they try to grow. There's nothing they like better than a fresh, new hope.  As soon as a glimmer of inspiration emerges, these burrowing little bugs set off to destroy it - stuffing themselves silly, until fully satisfied feeding off a mind that isn't free.
Of course feeling ashamed creates the perfect environment for mind maggots.  The little buggers thrive in negativity.  If they can live in a pool of bleak thoughts, they are fully primed to spot a nice, juicey shoot of joy as it struggles to push it's head above the slimey surface. 
But it's a new day. 
We've not had this one before.
We might not get another tomorrow.  
So I shall pep talk myself up, get a grip, go out and try and enjoy it!  
But I think I shall start by awarding myself a gold medal - just for getting out of bed!  :-)