Heroes With Heart

For one weekend every June, Terri and I spend a wonderful day among some of the most wonderful uplifting people you will ever meet! These are people that come together every year from all over California to compete! The great thing is that weekend isn't about winning, it's about the journey!

"Let me win but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" is the motto of Special Olympics. Special Olympics is an organization that sponsors athletic programs for people with disabilities. These are people who may otherwise be shunned by society, but through Special Olympics, they find a way to see their potential. They find belief in themselves and that belief spills over into their daily lives as well. Competing with Special Olympics is a way for many athletes to find basic humans need such as dignity, respect,and acceptance.

Special Olympics is my favorite volunteer event and one of the most uplifting weekends of my year! Being around these joyful, loving athletes is an amazing experience! They think nothing about coming up to you and giving you a hug, showing you their medals, laughing when they fall! These athletes operate with joy even though conventional wisdom says that they shouldn't! What would a person with disabilities have to be so joyful about? I tell you, they are joyful because through Special Olympics they are seen as no different from you and me! They have a purpose, a goal. They are seen as successful just by being there! The person who finishes dead last in a race of 20 is no less of a person than the one that came in first. The joy is found in trying! The success is in finishing the race, not how quickly!

When you volunteer with Special Olympics you see possibility! You see how love and kindness can transform someones life into a life filled with potential and joy! The great thing is that love and joy comes back to you in the smile of a person who finished a race long after everyone else but they finished! It comes back to you in the athlete with medals around his neck of all varities! It comes back to you when the athlete takes you to meet his co-workers from Toyota, who are awesome in helping athletes find jobs and be productive in their community! You can't help but want to go out and spread that love and joy yourself! Special Olympic events show us that the world can operate with love and acceptance if we want it to!

Special Olympians are heroes to me because they show me what can happen when you belive in yourself! They embody the spirit of love and belive in the joy of the attempt. Imagine the possibilities of a world where we all lived like that!

Please visit the Special Olympics website for more info on how to volunteer, join them on Twitter or become a fan! You won't regret it!