“Double amputee Oscar Pistorious bows out of Olympic 400, but sets sights on Rio in 2016″. That was the headline I read in the Washington Post this afternoon.

You know there are a host of excuses that we make every day. Many of them, while legitimate (I mean everyone gets a headache now and then) are the kind of excuses that allow us to fall short of being our best selves. Think about it, how often do you really push yourself? How often do you defy the limits that, once put on you, never find themselves removed or proven false. Such is not the case for South African sprinter Oscar Pistorious, a double amputee competing, not in the world’s Paralympics set to open in just 22 days, but in the Olympic Games where most, if not all, of his peers are two steps ahead of him. Excuse me, two feet, ankles and calves ahead of him.

For many of us, walking without feet would be a feat. (#punswild) For most of us, being the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games would have been enough. For the rest of us, finishing the semi finals heat on our own power with the help of carbon fiber blades in place of ankles and feet would have been enough, but not 29 year old Oscar who says, “In 2016, I’ll probably be at my peak in Rio. I’m looking forward to that more than anything.”

There is nothing more challenging and rewarding, motivating and compelling than to see the triumph of the human spirit. That is what this Olympics Games has been for us at Wondaland; a reminder of just how wonderfully each of our spirits has been crafted. It’s been a reminder that spirits don’t need feet to run freely.