Not to Walk Alone

Nine disabled children totally exploded
the myth that competition is natural.
In the Olympics, they set out on a
100-yard dash. One of them fell and
every single would-be competitor
stopped and went to the aid of the
fallen one. Then they locked arms
and walked the track together.
Everyone watching knew exactly
what they had just seen and
they could even believe it. For the
first time, though, since the Olympics
began in ancient times, ushering in
this era in which competition has been
glorified beyond all reason, people
could see the bold-faced fact that if
given the chance, people won't
set out to win a race; they'd much
rather walk it together. Not a single
person in the stands had dry eyes;
they thought, "Yes, this is Truth,
this is my life," and could not stop
themselves from cheering and cheering
such brazen togetherness. Their
applause lasted much longer than
the race which was not a race. No one
left the stadium without noticing
a change in themselves. They all
looked at each other knowingly and
nodded as they filed out. They
quietly hummed along to the tune
of a most surprising joy that all
they ever wanted was not to
walk the race alone.

(2007)