Toys cling to our memories thanks to their childhood connections. While Matchbox cars were my favorites, I remember others because of their uniqueness, like Hasbro’s Stretch Armstrong; a fantasy man whose rubbery composition allowed his body to be contorted to accomplish heroic feats. Last week, another Armstrong, as in Lance, admitted that his historic wins were make-believe as well. And, yes, I had intuitive visions regarding this as far back as Sept. 26, 2012.
In my journal last fall, I wrote: “During meditation, got vision of competitive cyclist — going to the light. LANCE!” At that moment, I felt that the most famous Tour de France champion was headed for a coming-to-terms. Even when Armstrong first denied the accusations of illegal doping to enhance his performance, I sensed that the “other shoe” was about to fall. On Nov. 29, 2012, I documented another intuitive vision in my journal: “Bicycle – needle injection – red. Self injection – Lance Armstrong.”
Titles were stripped. Sponsors bailed. And, then came Oprah, to whom Armstrong finally confessed his cheating. Many fans and admirers were crushed and outraged. Media outlets were among the harshest critics, as they too had been duped into once hailing Armstrong’s cancer survivor-athlete celebrity status.
We’ve all made mistakes. And, we’ve dealt with them in our own way, which hopefully involved learning from those errors. Perhaps, Lance, too, will endure his mega-mess and resolve to change for the better. His coming clean – even if it was via a highly-publicized broadcast coup – was a step. But, there are many miles left to walk on his journey of self-renewal.
So, what about us? How are we expected to deal with such foolery? I’d like to offer some suggestions. Instead of adding more fuel to the pyre, emit positive energy to athletic organizations, like Special Olympics, which have an admirable record of heralding the achievements of participants with disabilities. Or, if you’re a cyclist, there are fund-raising events across the country where you can pedal for a worthy cause, such as AIDS/LifeCycle. And, if you’ve donated in the past to the Armstrong-founded LiveStrong Foundation, and don’t feel as comfortable doing so now (even though he’s no longer on its Board), there are other cancer research and healing organizations that would welcome your gift. In other words, don’t let his misrepresentation take away from your own contributions. Continue your deeds.
Let’s find ways to look beyond one man’s faults and lies. Focus on what each of us can do to celebrate positive life forces. That shouldn’t be too much of a stretch!
Love and light,
Tony
Wonderful suggestions and a great reminder for us to make positive choices regardless of the situation.
Thanks so much for reading…and glad you agree that positive choices can make a difference when news like this confronts us.
Tony, thank you for this article. And I love that you turned “fuel for the fire” into “fuel for the pyre.” Because what the public is doing is not just lighting a fire around the accusations; they are throwing kindling on the pyre of a legendary athlete who, grated, was dishonest in practice and words. But why do we need to destroy the person? Because he is safe. He is outside us. And he in a way represents the dishonesty within each of us that we can’t confront. It is much easier psychologically to see and vilify it in someone else. And it is so difficult to see it in ourselves and burn that part, cauterize our own dishonesty to stem it.
Thank you. I always love reading your posts.
Really appreciate your reading and following the blog…and also admire your way with words.
Tony – What great insight for us to be able to take positive action…I particularly like your suggestion to turn to Special Olympics or others – which will fill our own and their needs…rather than turn away. It’s in both our actions and inactions that we’ll be judged and being able to help in this way allows us to “distance” ourselves from this kind of behavior that everyone is focused on now.
Thanks so much Joan! Instead of putting a strain on ourselves with negative energy, it’s such a HEALTHIER contrast to put even more emphasis on the positive around us. (And, you know lots about health issues, prevention, etc!)
Very well said. I’ve decided to focus on the good his name did in the past and write off his mistakes and lying as his future. So, in other words, he brought in lots of money to a worthy cause. Period. Now he’ll have to spend the rest of his life making up for his mistakes and carrying the burden of what he did. That has nothing to do with us. It’s all about him. We didn’t give our donations to him – we gave them to a cause. Nothing lost – only gains.
Kenn- so true…Can you imagine if each of us spent all of our energy chewing up everyone who made mistakes (and, there’s no such thing as a big mistake or a little mistake…they all have value), then we would be worn out! LOL! So, instead, create a strong force of positive energy. Let those who have the issues confront them and resolve them in their way.