You Must Learn One Thing

"You must learn one thing
The world was made to be free in
Give up all the other worlds
Except the one to which you belong"

-from the poem, Sweet Darkness,
by David Whyte

It would have been hard to imagine - being in any place in the world this morning that was more peaceful to me than at my home golf course, Morgan Creek.

I teed off on my own - at 7:15. There was an overcast that gave the fall morning a different feel. It wasn't summer. It wasn't spring. Nor
winter or fall.

As I headed to the tee - I heard the geese flying overhead and looked up to see that harmonious V they form as they work together to make their long journey possible.

By the time I had reached the 4th hole - I noticed the sun having to do a little extra work to rise over the magnificent cloud cover.

...and I gave myself a pinch - before I smited my next tee shot. I grew up playing golf. I abandoned it to go and play in the business/corporate world for twenty years. Perhaps "abandoned" is a strong word.


"Neglected" my golf game - may be a more apt description. I have spent the last two months becoming reacquainted with the game that I used to play so much in my youth. Over the years, I had become jaded that I would never again reach the skill level that I once had.

I hoped that - perhaps by next Spring and with some hard work, I would approach levels seen earlier in my life. Recent rounds have demonstrated that I may already be there.....possibly even better than my earlier days.

Golf is a wicked game - this may just be a hot streak that I am on. Golf will humble you. This is part of it's charm. Time will tell.

One thing that time will not change - the golf course is where I belong. While I enjoy the company of my friends that I play with and they are an enhancement to my life, one of my real joys is to take in the surroundings in solitude uninterrupted by any sort of banter.

Someone said - "life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the number of moments that take your breath away." My breath was abated this morning....

....and it made me wonder - how many breaths do we all hold in each and every day as we live in worlds that we don't belong....but have been led to due the influence of society?

People say that I am a strange cat - and they are correct. I am strange. On the golf course or off, I spend more time in the world in which I belong as I can.

What thing do you need to give up today - that is not really your world....your essence? What is the cost to give it up? What will you gain by being able to spend more time in the world that you do belong in? What is stopping you? What can you do to change your direction....your path?

Society will do it's best - to normal-ize you. It is like a gravitational pull. You don't necessarily feel it...but it's there if you stop, drop an apple, and notice it. The pull may exist but it doesn't mean that you need to be sucked in by it. Materialism.....vanity......conforming over concern of what others might thing....reaching for a shot of booze/adrenalin/overproviding for kids/pick your addiction.......they can all feel normal after awhile.

But are any of these things really - "your world" or have you made them an obligation......that has nothing to do with you?