Today we took a trip back to Calgary 1988 and watched Eddie the Eagle soar once again.
I sat at the hill years ago with my sister and my dad and watched as he jumped, and now almost 30 years later watched again with my daughter (and he jumped in his Olympic ski suit which was pretty damn impressive).
It was a happiness moment for many reasons. It brought back great memories of the 88 Olympics – we were very fortunate and got to watch many events. We still tell stories of how we were mortified by our dad (he probably felt the same way about us), and it was fun to revisit those memories.
It was special to share the event with my daughter. We watched the movie together and both of us found his story really inspiring.
It was so heartwarming to see the reception he got from his Calgary fans. People yelling welcome back and we are so glad you are here. When he was getting ready to jump people were cheering his name. The fans were so excited to watch him jump, and he was grinning ear to ear, the happiness was contagious. In a culture where we seem so often to relish in watching one another fail, it was a delight to see a group of people who do earnestly wanted to see someone succeed.
As he was going up the chairlift above us, he shook his fist over his head and with a huge smile yelled stronger than ever!!! He inspires me to be braver, to keep trying things that scare me, to do things I may not be good at, to chase my dreams.
Not only was it happiness, but it was a lot of fun. Witnessing someone living their dharma with such joy is a gift.