Recollection of letters (4)

5 August 2021

Dear Sushila

I have been caught up watching the exciting Olympic Games on TV. What else to do when you have to stay home and stay safe amidst this pandemic! You know, I salute each and every one of the athletes; the sacrifices they made, the pain of the long and hard training they go through to come to this world stage of sports. To me the fact that they could qualify to enter this competition, they are already winners, never mind the medals. Because of the pandemic, this is a very sad Olympics. It's heart-breaking to see the empty seats in the large and beautiful stadium built by the Japanese in anticipation of a triumphant ceremony. So strict is their protocol that at the Track and Field event, the athletes after running the 100 m sprint or the 400 m hurdles could not even recover their breath before they were ushered into the corridor, presumably to their individual cubicles! Nobody cheering for their great efforts, no running round the track with their countries' flags for the top three winners to celebrate with jubilation with their kinsmen and spectators. And their coaches could not even be near them to pat their backs (for a job well done) or to hug them with tears of joy. So different from other Olympics where there were so much rejoicing, merriment, festivity and you could share and sense the pride and joy of the winners! I hope that Paris in 3 years' time will give us back our hope and faith in humanity and in our world (Mother Earth).

I have been a cry baby this week. I cry when athletes made a slip and lose points; I cry when they shed tears of relief & joy! Each time when they interview the winners, their answers echoed the same sentiment. " I trained very hard for this"; "I tried my best".

I suppose it reflects our daily lives as well. The challenges we face at work and at home. What is important is that we learn from our mistakes, get back on track & resolve to do better the next time. A wise sage once said, "Keep all your happy memories in reserve because each time when you recall it, it motivates you to live life happy and positive".

The Covid situation in Singapore is not getting any better. We are still in partial lockdown. The daily cases hover around 120 each day. We have stopped tracking it because it is just a figure. Previously we would wait for the 4 o'clock news to see the number of community cases, but not anymore. Your country is not faring any better in this Covid battle, so do take care and stay safe.

Warmest wishes
sylvia