Once more from the top

Call me crazy. The ambent temperature this morning (at 9:30 am) was a pleasant -27 degrees centigrade. Add to that a windchill factor that made it feel more like -37 degrees. Anyone in their right mind was indoors, perhaps clutching a steaming cup of java or (insert here your beverage of chioce), but not me.

Instead, I was standing at the intersection of two downtown streets, bundled beneath a goose down coat, wearing double insulated gloves and a fur-lined hat. Why, you may ask? The reason's simple.

Most people across this fair land of ours can have one glimpse of the Olympic torch as the relay travels through various towns, villages and other establishments on its way to Vancouver for the start of the 2010 Olympics next month. Not me. I'm one of the (ehem) lucky ones who gets two such opportunities. The first was described in an epistle penned last week, and the second was today. The torch had finally made its way to the city of Greater Sudbury, and before heading west toward Sault Ste. Marie, it made a brief stop here for a party which included a pancake breakfast at city hall and a variety of other activties.

Celebrities and ordinary folk all get their chance to touch the torch (which is actually a whole series of torches being lit one at a time as the flame travels), and to play a small part in creating history. There's a strange feeling of something much bigger than me that's going on. As the torch approached along Elm Steet, and then passed by, there was cheering and calls of encouragemnt for the athletes who will don their uniforms in just a few weeks' time. There was also a moment or two of emotion and an inner sense that something wonderful is happening right before our eyes.

Across the country, stories are being told and examples shared of communities coming together (even just for a moment) to celebrate amid the winter chill as the warmth of a flickering flame unites us all. Perhaps we can't all be physically present in Vancouver, but we can all be present and conscious of the fact that this flickering flame, which began its travel on Mount Olympus is the same flame that flickers from the torch being proudly carried by so many ordinary citizens of this fair country. This flame will eventually light the cauldron which will burn for the entire period of the Games, and stand as sentinel over the place where human athletic excellence will combine with international ambassadors who bring the best of who they are to the spirit of friendly competition.

Some moments like this have the power to change us because they allow us to appreciate the fact that our world is indeed a vast place, but it's also very small. We all have our differences, but these can be put aside from time to time in order to leave room for gestures of peace and goodwill. In this case, it all begins with a flickering flame.