I’m on a movie kick and today it’s about “Secretariat.” It’s one of those “feel good” movies I’ve seen more than once. The last few breathtaking minutes of the movie always leaves me so inspired as to make me feel anything’s possible. What this superb horse accomplishes is beyond expectation and what anyone thought possible. I believe we can go beyond doing our very best. When we “stretch,” we can go further than our self-imposed limitations. We have an inner knowing that when awakened, we become aware of our total responsibility for all we experience and this allows us to change our situation. When we change our way of being, our brain chemistry fires up a different pattern. We see things differently and we are no longer tied to the same situation. Our choices become clear. Take this stretch factor to heart and empower yourself to change your situations by changing your way of being.
The end of year is also a symbolic last stretch. How will you complete the year? Are you planning with excitement for a new, daring and different 2012? This is also a holiday season – a time to enjoy, gather, and celebrate as you prepare to leap (or stagger) into a new year. Maintain clarity and embrace the new as you would a beautifully wrapped present. Consider all that you are grateful for in 2011 and bring forward all the environments and people who nurture and radiate positive energy. Consider what you will leave behind or let go of. “Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.” — Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist
December 2, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Note: the following comment was emailed to me with a request to add as a comment, by Phyllis Weiss Haserot
pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com
I loved the movie “Secretariat” until the end part about the Belmont race. That’s because I was present at Belmont for that race, and the movie, up till then pretty much a true story, was total fiction. Secretariat in real life was first out of the gate, was more and more ahead as the race went on and finished miles ahead (that is maybe 20 or more lengths) of any other horse. There was no “horse race”, so to speak. He was the winner and champ from the get-go. It was the most powerful athletic performance I have ever seen, bar none!
I am still furious at the screenwriters and everyone else involved for fictionalizing the ending. I understand why they may have done it. But I think the true story is even more powerful. They minimized the degree of heroism of the hose, the sheer athletic prowess and the level of faith of the owner and trainer for the sake of a common chase scene.