Winning
Any athlete worth his salt
can row or shoot or ski or vault,
balance, skate or box or splash,
hurdle, sprint, relay or dash.
But I find it curious
that all these actions furious
do not bring us closer to
what mankind really needs to do.
Instead of trying to beat each other,
overcome, defeat each other,
trying for cooperation
among each competing nation
just might serve to be a sample
that could be a good example
for the politicians who
do not seem to have a clue
of how to share our planet’s wealth.
Instead, by cunning, war and stealth,
they seek to get more than their share
of minerals and food and air.
What irony that they can’t see
how much better it would be
if we just learned it’s cheaper to
expand our neighborhood to view
every color, every nation
every man of every station
each the same as every other–
everyone as sister, brother.
There’s enough richness, if we dare
to treat the world as though we care
for every country, every nation
as one giant congregation
and not a game wherein we choose
that one or the other has to lose.
The words for today were splash, curious, irony and vault. Here are their links:
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/rdp-wednesday-splash/
https://fivedotoh.com/2019/05/15/fowc-with-fandango-curious/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/your-daily-word-prompt-irony-may-15-2019/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2019/05/15/vault/
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
Well said, Judy! It’s so much more rewarding to help others than to win for oneself!
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Isn’t it funny how rarely cooperation has been a human tool? In the history of the world, “cooperating” is not a word you see on the pages of the past — or the present. We seem to be essentially a hostile bunch. We apparently really LIKE to fight.
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I often wonder what extraterrestrials have to say about Earthlings after their observations. I don’t think they’d consider us to be a peaceful planet even though the majority of people are peaceful. Unfortunately those who seek the power of leadership seek more lethal toys than love and peace.
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Ha! Most Russian fairy tales start by “A mother had three sons; two smart ones, and a third – Ivan the Fool.” To rephrase it, we used to say, “A mother had three sons; two smart ones and a football player.” Unfortunately, most athletes are only able to self-actualize through brawn, not brain.
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It would be wonderful if the world leaders would have that view, though history does not tell of any group of world leaders ever caching it. 😦 However, we little people aren’t always willing to open our doors to take in the poor, or generously hand our income out to one and all, so I guess we can’t be too hard on the big guys.
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It has been my finding in this life that the poorest people I’ve met have often been the most generous. Ironic but true.
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There’s a mantra that competitive sports builds character. Most people just assume it’s true without thinking it through. But that’s mantras for you.
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Cooperation? Collaboration? Negotiation? In 21st century America, do those words (or acts) exist anymore?
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Within groups, yes. Between them, rarely.
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