Deserving ZC
I was looking for a little inspiration and how can anyone not be inspired by the Olympic Games? My hat is off to all the dedicated athletes for their accomplishments and all of the hard work they put in to accomplish their goals. Of course I had to make a ZC connection to the Olympics and it was given to me while reading and hearing about the comments made by those in the media. They used phrases like “she deserved to win the gold.” What, exactly, does that mean? The obvious answer should be that the person who put in the work necessary to succeed, and was able to focus on the execution of the task at hand, is the one who was “deserving.” In other words, whoever won deserved the gold medal unless there was some sort of malfeasance involved. For the overwhelming part, these are world class athletes only separated by seconds and milimeters. Oftentimes the separation comes down to focus, effort, and most importantly tactics and execution. There is usually no moral basis to consider despite people’s willingness to assign one. If the “better” person (from a moral standpoint) wins, it’s mere conincidence and it satisfies that purritanical urge groomed by religion.
All of the Olympians have a story to tell, I’m sure. There was Lashinda Demus who had a couple of children but unfortunately had an evil case of postpartem depression which totally affected her ability to train at a high level and keep herself together. For her to work through all of that and return to world class status was certainly amazing. Unfortunately, she came up short and it was not because she was not deserving. If she would have won the gold, we would have all cheered. However, she was beaten by another young lady who, although her story might not have been as dramatic, won the gold fair and square. She was “deserving.” She put in the work necessary to succeed.
The list goes on and on from Gabby Douglas to even Lolo Jones, who would tell you that she was heartbroken and unsuccessful despite returning from lower back surgery and running her fastest race of the year. It simply was not good enough to eclipse the medal stand. She was no more deserving than any other woman in that race despite the many hardships she endured in getting back to that spot. We need to lose the word “deserving” from sport unless we’re talking about the quality of an individual’s preparation.
That said, I do tip my cap to people like Brittany Reese who overcame Hurrican Katrina, or Oscar Pistorious, who competed with the “blades”. I love Gabby Douglas but she was no more deserving than those women she bettered in the all-around competition. In fact, they showed her as much on the balance beam and the uneven bars. It’s all about focus and preparation. If you do those things properly, you have a shot at winning and if you succeed then it can be said you were “deserving.” Pistorious overcame the fact that he did not have lower legs and feet as the other athletes yet he was not good enough to medal in the Olympics. He was no more deserving than those with feet. He wasn’t looking for our sympathy. He wanted the chance to compete as an equal and he received his chance. Ms. Reese’s struggles made her no more deserving of victory than Jones yet she was able to succeed due to her talent and skill. She was “deserving” because she jumped farther than anyone else yesterday.
Now, how does that equate to ZC? Well, a human being is not “deserving” of good or bad health. There are many factors that control this such as opportunity and the ability to take advantage when opportunity presents itself. Health is something that we can directly control either to the good or to the bad just like life. We humans have a unique opportunity to both prolong or destroy ourselves due to our own ignorance. When we are presented with the prescription for better health, we have to seize the moment and do the things necessary to secure better health. I have excellent health due to my dietary choices. I am no more deserving of great health than you are, dear reader, but I adequately prepare myself by making consistent choices that directly affect my quality of life. If there was any fortune involved, it was that I discovered some things that better people already knew and I followed their prescription. Now, I have no idea if the all-meat diet will make me live to 150; but that is not necessary. Even if I only live to 60, I want to have lived life without dealing with chronic disease. I want to go out vibrant and active just as when I came in regardless of how many years that takes. I can be “deserving” of that outcome as long as I adequately prepare and focus based on the information I have available. You can do the same. I may be totally wrong about the entire thing but that’s okay because it was the best I could do with the information presented. I cannot trust in phantoms or ghosts for good health. I can only rely on my own understanding and my reaction to the shared experiences of countless others who acted similarly when presented with the information.
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