Citius, Altius, Fortius

I am thinking about this incredible quote from Jim Carrey who once said: "Everyone should become rich and famous and do everything they dreamed of just to see that it's not the answer".

Kers came to see me this week and he said things which upset me a little. I was not mad at him and chose to keep my mouth shut as it was preferable to avoid any argument. He was about to celebrate his birthday and it would have been cruel/inconsiderate to spoil his mood. I took time later on to reflect about what really got at me. Was it because I felt I was being judged or simply because he was speaking the truth, a truth I could not bear to face? That got me thinking about my failures but when speaking with Zulfi last night it suddenly dawned on me that I would not be the person I am today had I not gone through these failures. There is nothing wrong about failing. Failing does not imply any lack of success, it just shows you that sometimes you need to take an opposite direction or a longer way to get to your destination but once you get there, you know that those bags you brought along with you carry a heavier load of experience.

This week,a lady, whom I know from nowhere, approached me at coffee break: "Hey I've seen you before. You were working at Solis. You quit your job as a manager to take up a job as a clerk!?!" She sounded seriously outraged. I very calmly answered: "Yes, I did" which made her almost choke...lol. I did not add anything else because there was nothing else to add.Actually, I was more concerned about her choking than her remark. As far as I am concerned, this lady obviously must have a very limited view about life and what makes people happy.

I stayed up all night to watch the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics and I admit I was very moved by the speech of Kipchoge Keino when he became the first recipient of the Olympic Laurel. I liked the theme revolving around trees, the message concerning global warming and the parade of the refugees under the Olympic banner. It brought a needed humane touch to this celebration. I have been following the games since 1984 and have never missed any live broadcast opening ceremony since then. Barcelona 1992 was creative, Sydney 2000 was fun, Beijing 2008 was spectacular, London 2012 was cool but Rio 2016 is by far the most moving one.Citius, Altius, Fortius.