The opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics offered a unique perspective on how our diverse world can come together in the spirit of sports competition.

As each country’s athletes paraded into the stadium, a young girl escorted the athletes, carrying a large rendition of a flower petal made of copper.

At first, it was unclear the purpose of the 204 petals. They seemed a bit like an odd prop for the event. But eventually, it was revealed that each one of the petals would be combined to form the unique caldron in which the Olympic flame will rest during the event.

That theory of all of us, in a small way making up a greater entity is one that symbolizes not only the Olympics, but our world as well.

Further, the cauldron is a good reminder of just how much we should realize that none of us are superior to others. We’re all God’s creatures and all part of a diverse population of humanity.

Even in our small corner of the woods, we have a number of examples of local residents whose country of birth is not the United States. Our population consists of people from all corners of the globe.

While the Olympics is a time of great patriotism and nationality, it should also be a time of great communication, learning and understanding.

As we seek out common ground with people who have different backgrounds than our own, it’s often amazing what we can learn.

We wish all the athletes a safe, successful Olympics, but mostly we hope the Olympics will bring our world together just a bit more — even if only for a brief period of time.