Amid world beating hearts
The tumult and the shouting starts
– Grantland Rice, The Start
Grantland Rice was an American sportswriter, well known for being the writer who called the 1924 Notre Dame football team’s backfield the Four Horsemen and for telling us it wasn’t whether we on or lost but how we played the game. It was elegant writing like that earned him a nationally syndicated column from which Rice went on to establish himself as one of the most eloquent and most famous sports writers America has produced. A pretty good athlete himself, Rice played football and baseball at Vanderbilt before starting his journalism career. He died at the age 73 in 1954.
The beginning of something is a time of great optimism. Our hopes and ultimate goals are reflected in this optimism because who attempts something great feeling low? No one.
It can be anything, too, it doesn’t matter what: a new leader being inaugurated, a champion player beginning a new season, a noted team beginning a quest for a title or the opening ceremonies of a large festival. The excitement surrounding these events is usually contagious.
Tumult and shouting does not belong exclusively to international events and those in the public eye, though. You and I can have our share of tumult and shouting, beginnings to times and events that mean a great deal to us. It could be anything from a new school year for a student or a teacher or the start of a new career or the final sprint to a goal long sought.
The tumult and the shouting is a time to enjoy. It heralds the start of something important and perhaps something great. The work and patience we will need to see our project through to conclusion and, perhaps, success, are challenges for another day. Used wisely, the tumult and the shouting produce wonderful dividends of enthusiasm and confidence that provide a good start to any endeavor.
The Thought for the Day runs regularly. Quotes are from Gaylon’s private stock.
