"Happiness is lowered expectations."

(Please note: That reads 'lowered,' not 'low.')

~Betsy

Okay, so today all the various newspapers and news/sports websites are picking apart Sasha Cohen's performance in last night's Ladies Free Skate at the Olympics. And what it all says to me is that our national obsession with gold medals is such a waste of time and energy.

Fact: Cohen dedicated herself, over the last year, to training as hard as she could. She learned to focus on the process and on the gift, not on the outcome. The spiritual truth here is that outcomes give us joy for a moment; the practice of using our gifts every day gives us joy for a lifetime.

Fact: Cohen fell/stumbled twice in the first minute of her long program. But rather than continuing to stumble and fall as she's done in the past, she picked herself up and moved forward boldly and confidently. She skated for the sake of skating, not for the scores. I, for one, am delighted that she was rewarded with a silver medal for her courageous effort.

Fact: Perfect is the enemy of good. Sasha Cohen has been trying to tell the news media this truth for weeks now, but very few will listen to her. She's teaching us that no one can be perfect, and sometimes what makes something truly beautiful (like her long program) are its flaws.

I admire Sasha Cohen's determination and courage as she displayed it on the Olympic ice over the last few days. She has shown us that sometimes silver is enough. In fact, sometimes silver is something of which we can be enormously proud.

~Betsy

After a couple of months in the doldrums, I'm reappearing on this blog. Thanks to all of you who have been checking back in, waiting for me. Sometimes I hit the wall, and this year I found my face smashed against the proverbial bricks on Christmas Eve. Suffice it to say that the new year got off to rather a rocky start, but I'm finally back in the saddle and ready to pontificate on a variety of subjects.

For now, I'll leave you with this bit of poetry from J.R.R. Tolkien, inspired my recent re-watching of the Lord of the Rings movies:

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."

~Betsy