I was inspired by the fervor we all applied to the Seahawks. Our entire region collectively joined hands in unity for a single cause. The amounts of time, energy and money spent was prodigious, and grew to a loud roar by Sunday afternoon.

Then, a collective sadness swept over us Sunday evening. Even though it wasn’t official, Monday was a day of mourning.

Today, I am struck by the thought that we all placed such a huge amount of ourselves into an event over which we had so little influence. Even with all our combined might, we remained mere spectators in this beautiful game of football.

What if we applied that same amount of time, energy and money into engaging with our own lives? What if we figured out how to stop rushing from crisis to crisis? What if each of us took the time to figure out what really makes us tick? That’s when we stop being spectators of others’ lives and start truly living our own.

Let’s be the place where this all begins and show the world how it’s done. Go team!

Manya Vee, Edmonds