Gold: Aura and Endurance

Sometimes a new life is upon before we even realize it.

Breathless joy crashes on us like a wave and, like a wave, moves on.

All too rare are the moments when we feel pure radiance, bliss, and abundance in our life. In fact, it’s almost like we’re cursed with the inability to feel it. It can be astonishing and scary in the wake of success to face the feeling that anything is possible, or that things will be forever different. After a stunning comeback in the Men's 1500m, American gold medalist Cole Hawkins was asked what it felt like, "I just had the vivid thought of how my life just changed." The Olympics should not be reduced to their sum of their medals, but, suffice to say, it is no mistake that gold symbolizes the highest achievement: the life-changing moment.