The swing of life

It was a cool fall evening and I was at the driving range practising my 7 iron. There was a tall and slender gentleman probably in his 50s. He was hitting the ball at a precision I had rarely seen except for tournaments. He was probably hitting 250 yards every time. After noticing for some time, I could not help but comment on his skills. He said something that I will never forget. "You hit the ball sometimes, sometimes you miss, but you have to come here everyday and hit it as best as you can". I learnt much more about golf and life in that one sentence itself.

Since I started taking lessons last year and got interested in this game, I noticed that Golf is very much like meditation or yoga. Contrary to what it may appear to lying eyes, you do need more focus and accuracy than brute force. In fact you can hurt yourself if you do not use correct technique. Correct posture, grip, nice swing and hitting the ball at the sweet spot of the club, it does not ask for much more. An interesting thing is that you should focus on the ball on the ground and not where you expect the ball to land. This is the modern equivalent of "you have right to only your work and not to the fruits of it".

Lush green field all around you, a small ball to focus on, surrounded by equally focused individuals and the freedom to apply your skills in the best way possible. Isn't Golf the modern meditation?