The Olympic Flame… a ritual that connects our human spirits

February 12th, 2010

I stood witness as the Olympic torch passed through Vancouver. Quite unexpectedly I burst into tears when it reached me. Across from where I was standing, there was a group of twee school kids cheering madly right beside a large group of seniors with their walkers, also cheering madly.  All their faces just shone. It choked me up when they broke into a spontaneous rendition of Oh Canada!  Though there were people as far as my eyes could see, I decided to run alongside as far as I could through the crowds.  Surprisingly it wasn’t too hard.  Many other people teared up as they caught sight of the flame.

That’s the power of collectively experienced ritual.  And that is in fact what the torch relay is… ritual.  The flame represents the universal human spirit.  Passing it from one to another, surrounded by our diverse communities, we are reminded in an unconscious way that — in our inner hearts we are all the same.  When ritual and ceremony are alive and resonate with meaning… we experience a shared memory — one that is emotionally transformative!!!

Whatever one’s ethical and moral perspective of the Olympics may be… this chance to share and connect on a human level with people of many nations is rare and precious indeed.  It’s a time to believe in the goodness of humanity!

While I’m on the topic of the Olympics, I would like to pay tribute to Corinne Hunt, co-creator of the 2010 Olympic medals.  I had the honour of conducting Corinne and her partner Sandra Barr’s wedding ceremony.  You can read about their beautiful ceremony here on this blog. Canada’s First Nations peoples have ancient ceremonial traditions, many of which not only endure today but are alive and rich with meaning… living rituals handed down from the elders in their communities.  For me, it was an honour to be asked to create a ceremony for someone of First Nations heritage.

Corrine is a highly respected artist, keeping alive the artistic traditions of her people in a contemporary way. Her art reflects the themes and traditions of her First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. The medal designs she and Omer Arbel created for the Olympic athletes are simply stunning.  Just like the athletes, each and every medal awarded at the Olympic and ParaOlympics will be different.  What incredible design vision!

I encourage you to read a wonderful article about Corinne Hunt and Omer Arbel’s co-creation of these inspiring meals. It’s called “Meet the Medals”. I found it on the official Vancouver 2010 web page.

And do enjoy visiting Corinne’s evocative website.  Lovely drumming and singing too.