I went to watch on Thursday, ready for the Kiwi win and the grand finale. They were so sure it was over after the first race, that they were giving away the $15.00 programs, and all t-shirts and hats were half-price. Then, there was an ebb-tide and the second race was cancelled. Winds too heavy, too light, from the wrong direction and strong tides have affected the racing. Then, today, there was a whale. It's almost funny if so much wasn't at stake.
When I was there Thursday, there was an array of Kiwi flags, and everyone I met was for New Zealand. Now, I read that today Oracle made sure there were U.S. flags to wave, and yet, the whole thing feels so manipulated, well, by Larry Ellison first, which is why so many may struggle to support "his" team, supposedly "ours", though there is only one American on its 11 man crew.
I was trying to understand why there is such a small window for racing. Here's New Zealand on the subject: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11128543
On another front, I'm reading Brene Brown's book Daring Greatly, which is about vulnerability. She quotes from The Velveteen Rabbit, one of my favorite books, and says, "It's a beautiful reminder of how much easier it is to become real when we know we're loved."
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt? asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real, you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
May we know we are loved, and may we begin by loving ourselves.
It's Autumn, and the pumpkin patches are open! May we each be our own fairy godmother and godfather and carve our own coach.