To me, "green Olympics" is a contradiction.

Yes, surely we can build eco-friendlier stadiums or mint medals with recycled materials, but the baseline remains that competitive sports are, by definition, compatible with neither human nature nor nature-nature.

As a child, I was really into sports. I took part in every annual sports meets during my middle school years, represented our school in inter-scholastic track events and soccer matches, and collected over a dozen gold, silver and bronze medals with great pride. At 19, I became the champion of cross-country running among local students, and promptly retired from the racecourse - for life.

Almost a decade passed before I fully knew the validity of my decision. Since then, I went all over the place to tell people to stop playing and watching all ball games and to participate in track, field and pool races.

And if this is the first time you have come across such an idiosyncratic stand and don't mind satisfying your curiosity, here is the why.

Cooperation and evolution

Some people may argue that nature is naturally competitive. Look over National Geographic or the Discovery Channel, and you will see scenes of lionesses chasing and devouring zebras.

However, while it is true that animals do hunt, survive and compete for resources, the fact of the matter is that the dramatic and bloody scenes shown on TV are much more occasional in nature than portrayed on videos.

The true story remains that our environment, together with the laws that govern everything that makes it up, is a peaceful paradise where elements survive in harmony, cooperation, mutual consideration, and serenity.

In fact, scholars such as Peter Kropotkin have argued that cooperation as a community was just as important as individual competition in evolution if not more so.

There is more than enough competition in this world, not to mention combative spirits.

The compulsion to "beat" one's opponent has become addictive in our individual as well as collective consciousness. We identify personal worth with medals and other external recognitions.

We need to turn every one and everything into opponents to compete with and defeat, in order to be happy (or even survive physically and mentally). Gradual loss in our psychic is the green wisdom that there is no need to be superior, own more, or more right than others to be in a state of well being.

Everyone can well excel in different ways. Achievements are not the only way to prove our values.

In this sense, all games are negative for character building and health. Can any expert prove to me that doubling my heartbeat in a butterfly-style race in the swimming pool is better for my body and mind than floating lazily on a beach and kicking the water at will?

Integration

Most sports over-exert a small part of the body and under-exercise the rest (e.g., the use of only one arm for tennis and bowling), and often offset its left-right balance (such as shot put and golfing).

This damage is all the more alarming with professional and international games, where serious money and pride is at stake. The sacrifice and cruelty medal-aspiring sportsmen undergo are no secret, just as the cheating and hypocrisy (the noble Olympic spirit, etc.) is scandalous.

Sports today are little more than an excuse to sell products and boost narrow-minded nationalism.

Don't for a moment think that I endorse static existence. The Chinese call animals "dong wu", or "moving beings". We have to be moving around to be healthy. But instead of sports, we need exercise. Our ancestors worked on the land, walked for miles on end and kept their living quarters in order without any of the electrical appliances we now rely on.

Rather than adding to climate change and breathing dirty air in a bowling alley, why not walk on the beach, enjoy gardening, or decorate your home with the help of DIY packages? You can even earn our planet's blessing by taking the stairs instead of the lift, or hanging your clothing rather than using a dryer.

In addition to daily household chores and regular physical treats (such as walking, dancing and swimming), the best exercises I have ever come across are from our two ancient civilizations in the East: Qigong and Yoga.

These practices not only energize the body but are also able calm the mind and nourish the spirit. If one delves deeper into the form, both qigong and yoga can become life practices, with a philosophical framework and a way of living.

That should be the ultimate aim of any exercise - not to win, but a practice of peace, compassion and health.

(HK Edition 03/21/2009 page7)