Congratulations On a Well Deserved Victory in the World Figure Skating Championships!






For those of you who don't know the story, until just a couple months before last year's Olympics, it was thought - for good reason - that Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, who represent the People's Republic of China, would probably never compete again. The cause was a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered by Hongbo Zhao - an injury that is virtually always a career ender for an athlete at his level.

In a testament to his dedication, commitment and just plain hard work - today the pairs team of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao won the World Pairs Figure Skating Championship for the third time! And considering that he is pushing on toward his mid-30s, the feat is even more remarkable.

To put it quite bluntly, finding the news online reduced me to tears of joy. I have been actively rooting for this brilliant and courageous couple to win their third title. And yes, I'm really emotional about it.

It occurs to me that we would all, as humans, be so much better off if we could focus MORE on the positives of other people and actively hope for their SUCCESS, instead of xenophobic denigrations of others who may not agree with us to a greater or lesser degree. Certainly, it's something worth considering.