Symbol of the games
By Jennifer Hallmark
Acts of kindness can range from sending flowers to visiting the sick to large-scale outreaches. One significant undertaking that touches many lives is an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick Service personnel called the Invictus Game. According to the Invictus Games Foundation website, London hosted the Inaugural Invictus Games in 2014.
The word ‘Invictus’ means ‘unconquered’. Sports can be a means of recovery and rehabilitation for service men and women who suffer from life-changing injuries; a way to help themselves and each other. Everyone is a winner, regardless of placement, in these games. The foundation also has a blog where service men and women can share their stories of hope and healing.
The poem, Invictus, by William Ernest Henley, is featured on the website.
Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
The 2016 Invictus Games will take place in Orlando, Florida on May 8th through the 12th. You can find ticket information here. You can also volunteer and support the people who have given so much to us all. The events will be broadcast on ESPN and include 40+ hours of coverage, beginning with the Opening Ceremony on May 8th at 8 pm Eastern Time.
Jennifer Hallmark 