I don't know about you, but I've been astonished by the precision and power of the Olympic swimmers and gymnasts who have been zooming across our TV screen these past few nights.  Wow!  It's difficult to imagine how hard these athletes have been practicing, day after day, for years on end, only to win or lose an Olympic medal by a 1/10th of a second, or a 3/100th of a point, determined by the mere flick of a wrist at the edge of the pool or the twist of a waist at the end of a somersault.
 
The Games have also given me a great opportunity to reflect on the way we humans tend to aggrandize ourselves and our circumstances, to act as if "all the world is a stage" made just for our personal benefit.  Let me explain.
 
Watching those finely tuned bodies do what they do so well, it's easy to fall under the dramatic spell cast by the non-stop, hyped-up commentators and their super-magnified, instant-replay screens. To believe that these events we're watching exist in splendid (or tragic) isolation, far beyond the pale of daily life.  And that these performances really are of monumental importance, as underscored by the cameras' capacity for capturing every single groan, grin or grimace displayed by the competitors, their coaches and family members.
 
Please don't misunderstand.  I'm not writing to belittle the Olympics, much less the extraordinary accomplishments of these amazing athletes.  I'm just marveling at the way these Games clearly reflect how our culture teaches us to view ourselves:  as lonely members of an isolated tribe, fighting for victory against our many enemies, as well as our own limitations; trying desperately to win Big Battles full of historic self-importance and dramatic flourishes.
 
In fact, regardless of how wonderful or awful your current situation (or mine) may seem, or how many people we believe are involved in watching it unfold, this is only Now.  And nobody else is really watching you, because they're busy watching their own melodramatic Now happening.   Moreover, this Now we're so caught up in is just another small moment in the infinite flow of life.  A tiny chapter in the age-old story of human Beings seeing through the illusion of separation and waking up to the truth of who we really are - One and Indivisible, deeply connected to each other and All Creation.  That's the real game.  It's mostly internal, mostly silent. It may not make for great TV watching, nor be sponsored by multi-billion dollar marketing campaigns - but it does call for real live heroes like you to do what needs to be done, one breath, one feeling, one moment at a time.   At least, that's how I see it. 
 
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check the Web to see how Michael Phelps did today ...
 
With blessings and hopes of seeing you Around the Circle,