There is no shame in losing.
There is no shame in losing. But I believe there is shame in laughing at someone who tries.
I was a competitive runner when I was young. I ran hard and took it seriously. My coaches said I should have played football because I was strong. On the dip bars, I could do sixty or more full dips down all the way and up all the way. No half-dips. No bouncing around like a fish caught in a bucket.
They called me an animal. At that age, I took it as a compliment.
We had many talented athletes at my high school: fast runners, strong football players, gifted basketball players, and people who seemed built out of spare parts from a farm tractor. But talent was never the whole story. Being gifted does not make a person better than someone else. What matters is whether you show up, give your best, and respect the person beside you.
I respected everyone I competed against, whether I won or lost. They had trained. They had sacrificed. They had stood on the line losing leg fat next to me and agreed to find out what they were made of.
That deserves respect.
Winning the event is one kind of victory. Finishing what you started especially when your legs hurt, your lungs burn, and every part of you wants to quit is another kind. If you crossed the finish line, you did not fail. You showed courage.
You can win a race and still be small. You can lose one and be large.
Talking trash after beating someone is cowardice wearing a loud shirt. You already won. Why try to make another person feel smaller? A truly strong person does not need to stand on somebody else’s back to feel tall.
And if you see someone who is overweight out jogging, do not insult them. At least they are out there trying. They are moving. They are fighting for their health, their confidence, and maybe even their life. The person mocking them from the sidelines is usually doing nothing except proving they need to take a good look at themselves.
Check yourself.
The same goes for the person brave enough to get on a stage and sing. Maybe they are not a great singer. Maybe the song itself wishes it had been assigned to somebody else. But they got up there. They took a chance. They let people see them try.
That takes guts.
If nobody claps for them, I will clap. Not every performance will be beautiful, but the courage to stand in front of people and give something of yourself is worth recognizing. It is easy to sit in the crowd and judge. It is much harder to step into the light.
Laughing at people who are trying is often a way of avoiding your own fears. It is easier to mock somebody else’s effort than to risk making an effort yourself.
I once worked with someone who stuttered. He had spent much of his life around people who interrupted him and never gave him time to finish a thought. So we practiced. I told him to keep talking when someone tried to cut him off. I encouraged him to ask friends to let him finish his sentences instead of rushing in to fill the silence.
Over time, he became more confident speaking.
Sometimes people do not need us to rescue them. They need us to stop interrupting them. They need patience. They need room. They need someone who will listen long enough for their voice to arrive.
Respect the runner who finishes last. Applaud the singer who is afraid. Give the person who struggles to speak the time to finish their thought.
Do not confuse cruelty with strength. It takes no courage to laugh from the sidelines. The brave ones are already out there running, singing, speaking, failing, learning, and trying again.
If you want a better world, be the person who cheers.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to be here. This is Roy Dawson Earth Angel, Master Magical Healer, Prophet, Singer-Songwriter, and Poet walking with God and grateful to share this journey with you.