So its all over for 2008 Olympic Games. I feel incredibly sorry and disappointed for Duncan, Alfeus and Anelle! They have given so much of their time, love and energy into the sport and now walk away without having qualified.
For the last three months since All Africa Games in Algeria, I have found myself getting on with things in my day to day life, training hard in the hope that I may still be given a chance to compete either in Manchester or in Libya, but not as hard as the three that had been selected to go to qualifications.
I could feel upset with them because they haven't qualified, frustrated and disappointed I was not allowed to prove my worth, feeling justified and angry in "see.... you should have picked me". Who will I be in the face of this? I will be there for them, to listen and comfort if they need it, to help them decide where to go and what to do if they need it and I will be the voice that I have been for South African Taekwondo and make sure we stay on top of the world and look towards the next horizon, the next competition, so in five years time, we qualify for 2012 London Olympics.
"It is the journey, not the destination". I have always read, heard it, been told it but I think only now have experienced it fully and now understand it....
"It is not where we are going or the goal or prize that we hold in our mind that is important. It is the way we carry ourselves, what we experience and what we learn along the way to that prize which is important. Ultimately it is who we create in ourselves as a possibility, who we are and who we BE during that journey, and who we create and allow ourselves to BE forever into the future that will allow us to say, "We live life powerfully!", and call ourselves "Giants among men""
Donald Ravenscroft
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