“You’re never too old to chase your dream,” Diana Nyad said after her historic 103-mile, 53-hour swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida. It took her 5 tries and 36 years to do it in a different, more challenging way than the other two people who successfully swam that route did it: through the shark and jellyfish-infested waters without wet suit, fins, or shark cage. When she got tired, this 64-year-old woman recited her mantra–find a way.
I respect her fortitude. I also respect her lesson, which is “We should never, ever give up.” Not that old saw (a damaging, demeaning lie) that you can do anything if you only try hard enough and set your mind to it. No, she emphasizes not the accomplishment of a deed but the pursuit of a dream…the action of working toward something that is worthwhile and energizes you.
Diana reached her goal. Even if she hadn’t, though, the effort itself would have been a triumph for women, “senior citizens,” and the human spirit.