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Working, as I do, with older people, it's impossible to escape the truth: life has a beginning, a middle...and an end. Although we spend much of our time in denial, the reality is that our time on this planet is finite, and we can only be certain of this one chance.
Given this, it's odd that as a race we have perfected so many ways to pass time before the inevitable. You could even, if in a slightly darker mood put it even more strongly: we actively waste our limited time on activities that appear to serve no higher purpose. Both the Xbox and Playstation can be cited as cardinal examples of this type of activity.
So is golf merely a way of using up large amounts of our precious time?
Are we just developing skills that are largely useless off the course? That have as little purpose as knowing what button combination releases your character's signature move in any of the myriad of martial arts games available for the afore-mentioned consoles? Is there no difference in us firing up Tiger Woods 10 on the Wii and swinging in our living rooms?
I think not. There are clear fitness benefits and likely positive effects on both physical and mental health from walking round the course, but even putting these aside I feel golf can serve a higher purpose. I feel that the key to how worthwhile an activity can be deemed lies not in how well you develop your skills in that activity, but in what transferable skills you develop. What can you learn that will help you not only in what you're doing, but in the rest of your life. After all, isn't that why meditation is referred to as spiritual "practice"? My understanding (admittedly after only one meditation session) is that it's described as such because you are practicing mindfullness and awareness to help you deal with the trials, tribulations and stresses of everyday life.
This for me is where golf scores highly. There is only you, a club, a ball, the course and through that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. No opponent is blocking your drives, no goalkeeper guarding the hole. Really, it's just us. And in how we deal with that, we can learn many things about ourselves. How we react to pressure, what we do when we get a bad bounce, how we deal with performing better or worse than we hoped or expected. Through this self discovery, we get the opportunity to either change how we react, or to minimise the effect of the reactions we can't change. And that sounds very much like through golf we can allow for ongoing self-discovery and personal growth. What purpose could be higher than that?
Another thing that comes from working with older people is the realisation that the stereotype of developing wisdom with age, the only really positive stereotype of ageing, is sadly just as misguided as all of the negative ones. However, if we embrace life-long learning and are lucky enough to live a long life with faculties largely intact, we will be truly wise. Mr Penick's books, including his "Little Red Book", are excellent examples of this. I think it's wonderful that golf can be part of the path to lifelong learning and thus wisdom. Care to take a few steps with me along this path?
Geek,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy it when you go deep. Mindfulness and awareness through golf... definitely well spent time. Older people provide these insights, all to often "beginning, middle, and end" are shared by the young. Your post reminds of one from @ehnaylor (Mrs. Sports Shrink) posted yesterday http://cancergaveme2birthdays.blogspot.com/2010/09/yogacan-you-become-addicted.html. Golf is our yoga apparently! My wedges are far better than my graceful warrior pose.
Geek,
ReplyDeleteI'm of the belief that the time we spend on this earth is all good. Regardless of how we choose to spend it the key is we have the ability to choose and consciousness to know we chose it.
That's all I need.
JG
John,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. But the gift of time we're given can be spent wisely or unwisely. For example, it can be perfectly acceptable to flop down in front of the television of an evening, particularly if there are specific things we want to watch. When it becomes the default option for how we spend every evening, however, it could be argued that we're not spending it as wisely as possible. I use that particular example as Mrs Geek & I were both guilty of that. When I returned to work after a period of illness, I couldn't see just how I could keep up my commitment to golf, let alone learning the mental game and blogging. When I looked at how I actually used my leisure time, I found there was a fair bit of "dead" time, i.e. time spent on the "default" option, not because of an active choice (and I totally agree with you, an active choice to do something makes it a perfectly valid way to spend time) but because I hadn't taken the trouble to think of anything else to do. And now that I've found something, it's been pretty easy to squeeze it into that space. I don't miss "vegging" in front of the TV because I still choose to do it from time to time; the DVR has been a great invention for this, as it's never been easier to record things you want to watch for playback when you want it. Mrs Geek's finding something similar after starting a further course of home study at University.
We're both stretched, out of our comfort zones to an extent and yet we both feel happy and really truly alive as a result.
Many thanks for continuing to read, your ongoing support and taking the trouble to comment; I've really enjoyed writing this reply.
Thank you also to the Pro Sport Psychology Symposium for your comments; I too have noticed the similarity between golf and things like Yoga and even the martial arts. Done properly, I think there are definite parallels between them. I find it quite easy to see well respected coaches like Mr Penick and Bob Torrance as the "Grandmasters" or "Sensi" of the game (not that that's a theory I'd advance to Mr Torrance; I've experienced his withering glare once when practicing at Largs when visiting my folks. I'd shanked a ball into the wall of the range booth at what was the National Golf Training Centre (now the Bob Torrance school of golf) and popped my head round to apologise to the occupant of the next booth, only to find a world renowned golf coach glaring at me. Something to experience once, perhaps, but not something I'm keen to repeat ;-)