The Olympic spirit can live on ... if you let it.

“War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” (Edwin Starr)

That’s what I thought on Saturday night while watching prime time Olympic coverage on NBC. Tom Brokow, who continues to milk his authorship of “The Greatest Generation”, narrated what felt like an endless feature on Great Britain’s role in World War II. As the images of clashing armies and Adolph Hitler flashed across the screen, I winced. From a TV producer’s perspective, it was in bad taste and bad timing. As a global citizen, it felt toxic.

Up until then, the 2012 London Summer Olympics had a minimum of politicization. I enjoyed NBC’s coverage, which has focused on the peaceful human drama and competition between the world’s most fabulous athletes. It has been a glorious and sometimes exhilarating experience to witness 10,000 gladiators from more than 200 National Olympic Committees running, swimming, vaulting, jumping, diving, volleying, dribbling, shooting, serving, spiking, acing, riding, rowing, punching and medaling without international incident.

The Olympics can make you feel like the world is a better place than it seems most days. A stage where battlers hug their rivals and acknowledge world-class performances, even when the other guy or gal wins.

Maybe the truth is that we live in a mostly good world. But when we become obsessed with following violence, strife and political division, we lose sight of what’s typical. Aberration becomes average. Dysfunction seems mainstream. Perception is reality.

Most people are working hard to succeed and not terrorizing or harming their neighbors. Each of us struggles to triumph in his or her own little way in life. And every once in a while, we break a world record, even if it’s only in our little world.

In the weeks and months to come, I’ll be thinking back on the 2012 Summer Olympiad. When ships bump each other in the Straits of Hormuz, when politicians lob mud bombs in the endless American elections, and when economists predict financial catastrophe, I’ll try to remember the remarkable global unity and the power of positive energy that is the spirit of the Olympics.

London Olympic Games serve up helping of healthy hope to couch potatoes

Watching the Olympics could make even the most dedicated sofa surfer stand up and start moving. Even if it’s only to give your favorite athlete or Olympic team a standing ovation.

I got off my duff this afternoon to ride my bike for about 45 minutes as I do most every day.  But the international athletic theater that is the Olympiad sets a great personal health example for all of us.

The sculpted physiques and exceptional endurance and flexibility demonstrate what the human body can achieve through relentless effort. General Electric has a riveting Olympic ad campaign called “GE Works” that graphically depicts how these  gold-medal anatomies actually perform and function.

As for me, my body would be classified fat and fit.

I’ve been exercising daily for over 15 years. Working from home has afforded me the luxury of speed walking and bicycling at lunch most days. In the winter, I add some bike or elliptical time at the gym most evenings. All that to hold the line on the battle of the bulge. I’ll never win the war, but the more I exercise the more battles I win.

Living and working in American communities that encourage driving doesn’t help. My neighbors, Hassan and Souha Jaber, of Dearborn, Michigan just returned from a vacation where they got a little more exercise than expected. They spent an enchanting week in Amalfi, Italy. The historic fishing town featured unforgettable vistas off the incredibly blue Mediterranean Sea and lots of climbing and walking. The Jabers rented a villa that was more affordable than the local hotel. It came with a 265-foot stone stairway.

“I was wheezing the first time I climbed the stairs up to the villa,” Hassan said. “I saw 85-year-old locals climbing the same stairs with no trouble and smiling at us as we struggled up the steps.”

Hassan came home looking slim, tanned and refreshed. He said the food in Italy was simple, delicious and natural. Herbs grew everywhere. Much is made of the Mediterranean diet and heart health. Perhaps we’re not talking enough about the role of exercise in the equation.

This week, August 1^st, marks my 25th anniversary as a self-employed entrepreneur. I’ve paid my own health insurance for all those years, with the highest premiums reaching $2,000 per month, plus deductibles and copays. I’ve always understood that I’m responsible for my well being in every way. Last year, I sailed through a routine heart stress test. I scorched the treadmill without working up a sweat.

Although I know I won’t get even a bronze medal for my efforts, I’m earning the ultimate reward. No matter how long I live, every day I exercise is a little better than it would be otherwise. And I won’t feel quite so guilty while I’m savoring my wife’s homemade chocolate ice cream and watching the gymnastics competition in London on TV.

Enjoy the Olympics, and to honor the athletes, give the couch a 30-minute break each day.