No sooner had the London Olympics 2012 opening ceremony at Stratford (East London) finished – or even long before it even finished – social network sites were filling up with posts from amazed admirers, and- I am extremely disappointed to say- negative, whining, hypocritical pictures and posts by some others!
Everyone is entitled to their views and opinions. So yes, I do understand that some people will vent their negative views. But those of you who do so- can you at least wait till the Opening Ceremony has concluded, before putting out your views??!
I have seen in Social networks sits like facebook, people posting sarcastic, negative and critical posts. I have seen how people seem to have take screen-shots of the ceremony ..and added various negative comments, their own ill-devised campaigns and started circulating those. And I have seen how others take it on and share it.
It’s obvious that the people who would have paid their ticket to get to the Opening Ceremony will in no way have taken photos and edited it all on their tech-phones and blasted them out into the internet. I imagine most people who went there would have been supporters. So the ones who have been putting those graphics out must be those who caught it on TV coverage… And if so, here’s a message to those: You are breaching copyright and brand rules – Be Warned! Create your own graphics, or use photos you have created – for these negative Olympic Bashing campaigns – or just don’t!!
Personally, I was not all that bothered some months ago – and I have heard all the debates and arguments – about how much it’s costing us tax payers, how it’s only serving the elite and the rich, how it’s commercial, how it’s not really for the people, how it’s throwing chaos and inconveniences at the people who live in London.. etc etc.
Yes, I know it’s cost 27million pounds for the ceremonies etc. Is that such a big deal for an International event that’s bringing together over 200 countries in a friendly competition? More Millions have been spent on far less important football matches – some of which have served none but companies that own them! More millions have been spent on making films – which have been nothing but 90 minutes of entertainment and don;t serve the world in such ways that the Olympic does. So if you are going to compare and criticise, do it in context, and do it fairly!!
Talking of entertainment – yes I watched the 90 minutes of the Opening performance show last night live on Tv, and was thoroughly entertained by it. I marveled at the theatrics, constructions, the incredible dance choreography involving thousands, the stage management that must have gone into it, the technical coordination and skills involved and so on. It may be costing 27million pounds and ran for 90 minutes – but I put it to you again.. there have been films made that have been that long which have cost 5 times as much, and have had not even a fifth of the significance or relevance on a world arena!
And those who criticize the skills and talents: here’s a question I ask- Have you ever made a 2 minute movie using your digital camera, tried editing that with a few special effects and shared that on social networks? Have you ever organised a small party for 200 people? Have you tried doing an art work that is the size of a wall perhaps? Have you tried composing music? Have you tried creating something with real hard work and passion..and then put it out to the world, and await the possibility of being accepted by the friends or harshly rejected? If you have not – then you will have no idea what it takes to create anything of the size and scale of such a thing as the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics 2012. And that being the case, you are just being an armchair critique. Which in my book is utterly self indulgent, childish and rather pathetic of you!
Context and perspective, please!
Assuming that all those cons and arguments hold water- what can we do? The Olympics 2012 are here, in our doorstep. The Olympics stated off decades ago with high ideals in mind – as a uniting force and to celebrate the skills of the human ability and it’s potential for physical excellence. Even if some of you think modern Olympics are not doing that – and only a day has gone by so you can;t judge it as such- why put negativity into the Global human Collective?
Each one of us has the power to add something positive – here and now – every post we do on the internet that gets seen by a hundred of others is a flame that we each hold.. So rather than pass on a black flame of shadows and strife, why not say something good, and pass that on? Worse, why take images of something that can be used positively and tarnish it’s energy by using it negatively? Whatever is happening in those stadiums may be beyond our individual influence at this stage- but what we each put out into the internet IS within or power..and we can use that power for good..
The Olympics is like a Child – it’s born now. Rather than look at what’s wrong, what disabilities it may have, I say- nurture it, and support it in some way energetically and it may well grow up to be a good human being – symbolically speaking!
If you are a practicing magician or a pagan or a spiritual being- hold a flame of hope in your hearts now, and that may actually do good (if you believe that you have power and that you can change the world – that is).
-Mani Navasothy
Related links: Gaian Times e-magazine – exploring the science, magic and psychology of our Earth
QuantumPhoenix 
I am LOVING your Flames of Inspirations and Magical Significance.. as well as , lets face it the collective HOPE for the better future.. Thought provokingly put too.. Great job.. I add , hypocrites have the choice of NOT watching or being absorbed in any of this.. If they want no part of it, they shouldn’t in my opinion..
Here are some thought provoking responses to my blog entry from friends in a social networking site:
David B:
A bit harsh, I think, Mani. Yes, I agree with much of what you say in your blog (and with Mike’s comments) — but people have different thoughts, feelings and reactions, and they have the same right to express them as you do.
Personally I thought a lot of the individual bits of last night’s ceremony were utterly brilliant — but that the show was far too bitty and didn’t always quite gel; it also seemed unbalanced in places, with some of the least successful parts going on for too long. But that’s my opinion, and I’m happy for you to disagree.
From Mike S:
Just to add a perspective on my personal inconvenience, we have an olympic campsite hosting up to 10,000 campers 2 inutes walk from my house. They have a live music licence (until late at night), Australian tv, alcohol sales and food services from 4am until 11pm. Our local infrastructure isn’t really set up to bear an influx of 10,000 extra people. It’s going to be a challenging month. Focusing on the really good things we can celebrate about having the world come to visit us will help me cope. :o)
From Rose D:
There was a lot to take in and my daughter Kelly was saying that it was a bit bitty at times and slightly confusing like tha part with the chimneys when they were portraying the ndustrial revolution (staggering amount of work went into that piece). But I told her that they deliberately showed it as chaotic and busy because that was how it was. She said a lot of young people might not “get” it all so I said well that’s good because they might ask good questions. After thinking about what I had seen, my perspective is that it was a magickal working using a potted history enactment to show how what we have produced and harvested in this geographical location has led to the current harvest, a Lammas Celebration. You can never celebrate the same Lammas twice as each cycle is entangled with and is a continuation of previous cycles. We will never look at the same River Thames now as it has Olympic imagery attached. The various countries have brought their own harvest, their competitors which they have sown and prepared.They will see what they can harvest from their individual contributions. Old records will be cut down and new ones planted.
From Sam S (Canada):
If I was a Brit, I would be proud to welcome the world to my doorsteps and show off my best to everyone. Inconvenience? Well, isn’t that part and parcel of setting up any sort of party? Be proud, quit griping, enjoy. It will be over in 2 short weeks, and then you can go back to not being inconvenienced for hundreds of weeks for the rest of your lives. – A Canadian who was simply awed by the opening ceremony.
From Caroline W:
Mani, Mani, Mani, I love your magic, but please don’t be so prescriptive! We can only see it how we see it, and people have the right to protest if they want to. There is an argument that magically, it has been successful as a big con trick, bread and circuses, and that people have been enchanted by a sprinkling of razz-ma-tazz fairy dust with the dancing nurses. Certainly none of the cynics I’ve heard are offering uninformed or unreasonable arguments. I nicked this from John Crow’s page because Andrew G puts how I feel about it more eloquently than I can. Many blessings to you, with love, Caroline. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100173131/london-2012-how-the-olympics-suckered-the-left/
From Hannah MD:
so manni you dont LIVE sandwiched between two events.. and one next to our HOSPITAL… also 27 million spent on this and 50,ooo NHS staff sacked … does that make any sence?
Thank you to David, Mike, Caroline, Sam, Rose, Hannah.. for your personal views. It was not my intention to be harsh.. I guess I was just being passionate. The Ceremony had only just finished (on that Friday night..) and I went to facebook and saw all the negative posts.. which actually disappointed me greatly. Everyone had already known all those things…how much had been spent etc. So just because the opening ceremony did not please those people, they were just blasting. Now I am all for free speech.. (on occassions, on my own profile or pages, I had let other people’s heavy abuse of me still standing.. for this very reason). What was making me react quite `harshly’ was the fact that people were using the pictures/ screen clippings etc of the ceremony itself to put in their own thoughts.
That to me is a bit like killing your enemies and raping their wives.. and not necessary. Protect by all means..but do it with own resources instead if hi-jacking something else.
The government cutting NHS budgets, army, over loading local towns with Olympic camps.. all very real and perfectly reasonable causes to protest against.. I am not disagreeing those at all.
In war times, people are willing to make sacrifices…for the sake of greater national good.. with hope that it will turn out okay. So why not, in peace time, make some sacrifices, with real hope that things will turn out okay?
In a time of create financial turmoil, we have the whole world coming to our City! The international attention, visit etc can all be `harvested’ – whatever any one might say- for better fortunes for us! – but only if we of this (London) City, keep the hope and faith… My criticism was especially leveled at all the magical people.. who should know that every comment is like a seed.. used wisely it can change reality.
So why put negative seeds…?
Answer that please..
-Mani