Connected by a Passion

From the quirky Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics onwards, South Korea have pushed the message of connectivity and inclusivity. People are united by their passions and in Winter sports those passions are more obvious than in almost any other. The commitment of athletes to break the boundaries of what is humanly possible by throwing themselves down, up and off mountains, and ice rinks, displaying dazzling revolutions in the air, going faster and further, is astounding.

And it almost doesn't matter which country you are from, success is celebrated universally, disappointments are shared by everyone, because the aim is not simply to put yourself forward, but to challenge everyone to do more, be better and excel in whatever way you can. As one commentator noted this week, it doesn't matter if you're not inspired to ski down a steep hill, do several somersaults 20 feet in the air and land on your face, because you'll probably be inspired to do something, and may you do it with everything you have so that you can in turn inspire others to go beyond what they thought possible at the same time make a difference to the world around them.