Recalling the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

One earlier FB post looked into the typical reaction to receiving the gold medal.  The recipient immediately bites into it, ostensibly to seek affirmation that the medal is indeed made of the precious metal.

No such luck, and but we cannot say that it has been so  over all those years.  Though we can surmise that the medals are most probably made of the same stuff as they were years ago.  Just realized there may be written standards set even on the metal composition and weight of Olympic medals.

Anyway as it stands, this is what we can expect from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics medals that are being handed out to exultant winners. From some rough estimates made by me.

The three medals, gold, silver, and bronze weigh from 450grams to maybe 556grams, or about half a kilo on average, with gold weighing the most.  The gold medal is essentially made of silver with maybe 6 grams of gold, good enough to be used for plating.  The silver medal true to its name is made up of pure silver.  And bronze of brass and zinc, so not much intrinsic value.  Based on this and the prevailing prices of precious metals, a gold medal might command a price of about 800 dollars, selling the gold and silver content in it, and silver maybe about a little above 400 dollars.  Never mind the bronze medal.

Getting any idea where this is going?

The revered and time-seasoned Olympic Games idolized by the world have always been about excellence in sport and symbolism.  Rank the best performers with their shown performances in competition and give them medals for their accomplishments, the ranking and composition of the medals clearly symbolism for us to revere and behold.  Nothing denoting the awarding of financial awards to winners.

How things have changed though the Games have steadfastly remained the same.  Immediately upon winning financial windfalls are factored in like these too could compete in another contest, this time in value and size. Winning athletes are expected to start following the money trails, in hot pursuit of their "just rewards".  The world would appear disappointed if the winners lose out in this other contest.

And we fear that the world is more concerned and interested in this other contest.

Morning Musings

 Thoughts on Waking Up

The concept on the living of life has been revolutionized since the time of Christ.

Yet we humans still cling to our hedonistic and temporal pursuits in life. We pray for an easy and comfortable life. 

We continue to race after fleeting and illusory experiences that appeal mostly to our senses. 

We try to blind ourselves into thinking that what we aim is for the greater glory of God, yet we cater only to the pleasurable sensations connected with our experiences.

Christ had a simple and clear message. If you want to follow me, take up your cross.

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Never Let Up On Life

Most folks one meets along the way will keep saying to you to keep doing it because the more one does it, the easier it becomes.

For me nothing could be more false when it comes to physical exercises after a certain age. It does not get any easier.

Somehow this too holds true like life actually is. Life never gets easier, regardless how hard and successful we try at making something out of it.

Each day and time is a constant challenge to be hurdled and overcome.

It never gets easy until your last breath.

And thus like the way I live life, I continue to plod along with the physical exercises I am convinced I need to proceed with what remains of life or in pursuit of the continuing expectations I have of it.

About Depression and Gay Marriage

 Depression

In the last 2 months, many of us have read about the medical condition called depression, because at least two very noted personalities we read are said to be suffering from it.  One is a very young world-renowned lady athlete and the other a former president of the Philippines in his 60's.  The latter died a week or so ago.

Over the years we have heard so much about this condition which used to not get much attention.  But now we are told it is a very serious condition and must be given much importance.  It is not only a very real, consumptive, and debilitating ailment but could also be career-ending and even life-threatening.  And for many necessitating the engagement of professionals specialized in such conditions.

Growing up we typically and nonchalantly associated depression with loneliness, sadness, or even melancholy. So we did not really give it the gravity that medical professionals now have invested in the condition.  After all, most if not all of us went through such forlorn periods of feeling very low, to a point that at times we did not even want to get out of our beds to face the world.

I remember my own episodes when I was still single and unemployed.  But somehow we out-grew it. Not that the condition has deserted us for life, but somehow we have been able to lessen not only its gravity but its frequency.  And somehow also we learned to tackle with it, each in our own ways.  For many, maybe the resolution is when we turned to a higher power and lodged the providence of our health and safety in that kind of faith.

Still as mere mortals with very limited knowledge and understanding of such an insidious and almost invisible enemy, we have to surrender our ignorance and rely trust on others who are better equipped. 

 Still, we should resolve to continue our own searches for truths about it. And thus they ought not be stifled, neglected, or even dismissed by others.  We can only be better persons if we are curious about its ramifications.

Gay Marriage

This issue is so loaded with heavy paradoxes, one wonders how it continues to float.

Many supporters of the ruling are beaming with almost unexplained bliss and pride, like heaven has been opened to them. 

No problem there.  Man is known to welcome temporal bounty like there Is no tomorrow, or like it is the be-all and end-all of existence.

Yet the cause of happiness can be explained in such a manner as to show the resultant over-celebration as undeserved because the decision was far from convincing, though still historic.  Far from being unanimous, a 9-man court of the US all appointed for life by the US president, religiously divided into 6 Catholics and 3 Jews, voted 5-4 to grant equal status to gay marriages with traditional marriages the latter strongly espoused and supported by all religions, like Catholicism and Judaism.  And if I may add, equal only with regard to enjoyment of benefits dispensed by the Federal bureaucracy.  They could not have ruled about its cultural and religious ramifications, because after all that would be obviously beyond the purview of this court.

Anyway, the hairline decision came because 2 Catholic court members decided to break away from traditional teaching of their religion.  Kennedy many say was simply being true to form, taking sides away from traditional or classical truths espoused by the citizenry.  The other, Sotomayor, most likely because she is most liberal having been appointed by the current administration, to represent two minorities, women and Hispanic.

The more impactful thing here is that because of the role of the US in the world, this will open the floodgates for the rest of the world with regard to this issue.  A paradox indeed, germinated by an unconvincing decision riddled with dissension not only from the court’s own members, but also the citizenry.  Mind you, amid the recent trends as reflected by survey polls which show people favoring gay marriages in the majority, not only in the US but in the rest of the world.

As a species we continue to be an enigma.