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| AP Women's Figure Skating Medalists: Yuna Kim of South Korea-silver;Yulia Lipnitskaya of Russia-gold; and Carolina Kostner of Italy-bronze. |
SOCHI, Russia – Sure it’s easy to get caught up in the scoring. Figure skating scoring is inscrutable and bizarre and it has a long history of corruption. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers of Thursday’s ladies free skate because it’s possible, even likely, that your eyes and the scores did not matched.
But if you look too hard at the scores, you might miss something else. Thursday night, a 27-year-old Italian named Carolina Kostner took to the ice. Eight years ago, she was the darling of the Torino Games, the great figure skating hope for Italy. She fell on her first jump and never contended. The last time she was at the Olympics – four years ago in Vancouver – she fell three times. And she broke down. There’s a YouTube video of an interview with her mother, and I dare you to watch it not to cry. There’s not a word of English in the entire video. I still dare you to watch it and not cry.
After Vancouver, Kostner got hurt, and she lost hope. “I thought, ‘I have reached my limit,’” she would say. “This is my limit.” She became a student. She tried to forget. But she missed skating. The Olympics are in her blood. Her father was a member of an Olympic hockey team. Her cousin Isolde Kostner won two bronze medals in alpine skiing. Carolina did not want to believe Vancouver was her limit. Instead she told herself to stop trying to be perfect and start skating for herself, for the joy.
She took the ice in Sochi, and “Bolero” began to play, and she landed her first jump, a triple lutz. From there, the music swept her away. She landed every jump. She skated with this big, beautiful smile on her face. The crowd – with hardly an Italian in the place – was mesmerized by her. When she finished the best performance of her life, the joy on her face was indescribable. She had done it.
Excerpt from:
http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/20/forget-the-scoring-for-a-moment-focus-on-the-skating/
When I heard this story on television on Thursday evening, the commentator said that Carolina's mother had given her the advice to "skate for the joy of skating". Whether the advice came from her mother or from within her own heart, Carolina took the advice to heart and skated in a way that brought her joy of skating to the watching world.
So, on Friday, I thought, "I'll take this advice to heart and stop trying to be perfect as a Christian woman. I will simply live today for the joy of living!"
I have to tell you, it was a terrific day. I did not accomplish all the projects on my "to do" list. But as I lived my life that day, I delighted in the little things I did right. I ate a bowl of blueberries for breakfast, thus taking in both fiber and antioxidants. I brought out some of my Easter decorations and began to anticipate the best holiday of all-our Lord's resurrection! I met a friend for lunch and had a deep, meaningful conversation. I called another friend who was too ill to meet in person. I worked out at the gym and drank lots of water while I watched Katie Couric's show and cheered in a contest for the inventor of the "Boobie Pack--A Pack For Your Rack"! It's a sports bra with pockets for your keys, credit cards and cell phone-yessss! I came home and made pork loin and homemade applesauce with my husband while we watched reruns of "Modern Family". And I didn't criticize myself for the projects I did not get done that day. I lived Friday for "the joy of living".
I believe that's how Jesus lived life when he was here on earth. He could not possibly heal every sick person, raise every dead person, exorcise every demon, calm every storm. So, he chose to live every day "for the joy set before him" by his father and his eternal mission (Hebrews 12:2).
I think I'll try it again today! It's only 6:41 a.m. I think I have a shot...
--Posted by Mama O.
But if you look too hard at the scores, you might miss something else. Thursday night, a 27-year-old Italian named Carolina Kostner took to the ice. Eight years ago, she was the darling of the Torino Games, the great figure skating hope for Italy. She fell on her first jump and never contended. The last time she was at the Olympics – four years ago in Vancouver – she fell three times. And she broke down. There’s a YouTube video of an interview with her mother, and I dare you to watch it not to cry. There’s not a word of English in the entire video. I still dare you to watch it and not cry.
After Vancouver, Kostner got hurt, and she lost hope. “I thought, ‘I have reached my limit,’” she would say. “This is my limit.” She became a student. She tried to forget. But she missed skating. The Olympics are in her blood. Her father was a member of an Olympic hockey team. Her cousin Isolde Kostner won two bronze medals in alpine skiing. Carolina did not want to believe Vancouver was her limit. Instead she told herself to stop trying to be perfect and start skating for herself, for the joy.
She took the ice in Sochi, and “Bolero” began to play, and she landed her first jump, a triple lutz. From there, the music swept her away. She landed every jump. She skated with this big, beautiful smile on her face. The crowd – with hardly an Italian in the place – was mesmerized by her. When she finished the best performance of her life, the joy on her face was indescribable. She had done it.
Excerpt from:
http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/20/forget-the-scoring-for-a-moment-focus-on-the-skating/
When I heard this story on television on Thursday evening, the commentator said that Carolina's mother had given her the advice to "skate for the joy of skating". Whether the advice came from her mother or from within her own heart, Carolina took the advice to heart and skated in a way that brought her joy of skating to the watching world.
So, on Friday, I thought, "I'll take this advice to heart and stop trying to be perfect as a Christian woman. I will simply live today for the joy of living!"
I have to tell you, it was a terrific day. I did not accomplish all the projects on my "to do" list. But as I lived my life that day, I delighted in the little things I did right. I ate a bowl of blueberries for breakfast, thus taking in both fiber and antioxidants. I brought out some of my Easter decorations and began to anticipate the best holiday of all-our Lord's resurrection! I met a friend for lunch and had a deep, meaningful conversation. I called another friend who was too ill to meet in person. I worked out at the gym and drank lots of water while I watched Katie Couric's show and cheered in a contest for the inventor of the "Boobie Pack--A Pack For Your Rack"! It's a sports bra with pockets for your keys, credit cards and cell phone-yessss! I came home and made pork loin and homemade applesauce with my husband while we watched reruns of "Modern Family". And I didn't criticize myself for the projects I did not get done that day. I lived Friday for "the joy of living".
I believe that's how Jesus lived life when he was here on earth. He could not possibly heal every sick person, raise every dead person, exorcise every demon, calm every storm. So, he chose to live every day "for the joy set before him" by his father and his eternal mission (Hebrews 12:2).
I think I'll try it again today! It's only 6:41 a.m. I think I have a shot...
--Posted by Mama O.
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