One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

A cold wind suddenly arrived yesterday. Just a few days ago, it still felt like autumn. Now, it feels like winter is just around the corner. This morning, I opened the window and immediately felt the cold air. “Wow, it’s cold!” So I put on warm winter pants and a warm jacket. But I didn’t close the window. I wanted to breathe in the cool autumn air as much as I could. I like this kind of weather. Then I started thinking about yesterday’s golf round. There were golfers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Just before teeing off, my younger golf buddy, who is in her 50s, suddenly said, “Oh, I left my arm brace in the car. My arm hurts, so I need to wear it.” And one of the older golfers in his 70s had a small bandage around his right little finger. He told me he had been having a problem with it for about two months. Eventually, he decided to have surgery this winter. I looked at them and laughed. Then I said, “As we get older, it would actually be strange to be perfectly healthy. 😊” At the time...

This morning, I suddenly became curious about the name of my favorite coffee drink. Why do we call it a café latte instead of a coffee latte ? I am 60 years old, and I have enjoyed café lattes for many years. But somehow, I had never really thought about the name! Whenever I go golfing, I often make a café latte at home and put it in my thermal mug. Sometimes, I stop at a café on the way to the golf course and get one to go. It has been part of my golfing routine for a long time. And today, on a rainy morning, this simple question suddenly came to mind. Why café latte, not coffee latte? So, I looked it up. The original name is Italian: caffè latte . In Italian, caffè means coffee, and latte means milk. Together, they mean coffee with milk. In English-speaking countries, people often call it a latte for short. You may also see café latte on café menus. Now I understand why! It is funny that I have enjoyed this drink for so many years without wondering about its name. And here I am,...

BMW Ladies Championship — A Dramatic Final Round Today, October 25, I watched the final round of the LPGA BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Korea. I was disappointed to hear that Jin Young Ko, who had originally been expected to play, did not compete in the end. Six players also had to withdraw during the tournament because of injuries. Even professional golfers can have a hard time completing all four rounds. Golf is not easy, even for the best players in the world. And then came the final round! Hae-ran Ryu had been leading the tournament after three rounds. Could she keep her lead and win? Or would someone catch up with her? Nobody knew until the very end. Finally, Yuri Yoshida of Japan won the tournament with a total score of 17 under par, just one shot ahead of the runners-up. It was her first LPGA Tour victory, which made the win even more special. Hye-jin Choi played an excellent final round and finished tied for second with Hae-ran Ryu. Another r...

These days, I sometimes feel a quiet happiness even when nothing special happens. I spend an ordinary day in Jeju. I look at Ruby and Rich and find myself smiling for no particular reason. When I practice golf and discover a movement I did not understand before, I feel excited. I also enjoy sitting down and writing about the things that happened during my day. Then, one day, a thought came to me. I am living my life well. And as I thought about it a little more, another feeling came to my heart. I have lived my life well so far, too. The person I am today did not appear overnight. The years I spent working, the time I spent studying in a new place, the life I built after moving to Jeju, and all the days I made my own decisions and took responsibility for them have brought me here. Of course, not every day was good. I made choices I sometimes regretted. There were difficult times, and there were moments when things did not go as I had hoped. Sometimes, my body needed a rest, and I had t...

This morning, I had a little disaster in my vegetable garden. I had carefully prepared the soil and planted radish seeds at the right time. I wanted to grow my own vegetables for the winter. When the green leaves appeared, I was so happy. I even started picking some young leaves to eat. I thought I was becoming quite an expert gardener! Then, one day, lots of little butterflies began flying around my green radish patch. At first, I didn't worry. They need to eat, too, I thought. A few leaves won't hurt. I even enjoyed watching them fly around my garden. Perhaps they liked my little patch as much as I did. But then something strange happened. The radish leaves started disappearing.😔😕 Yesterday, I thought I would pick some more young leaves to eat. But when I looked closely, there was hardly anything left to pick. What had happened? This morning, I decided to pull out the damaged plants. And then came the surprise. Every time I pulled up a radish plant, little caterpillars dro...

I’m not someone who never cries. I sometimes tear up when I watch a sad movie or see someone going through a difficult time. But when something happens to me, I become much stronger. I usually tell myself, “Don’t cry. Get yourself together.” And then I do what I need to do. But there were only two times in my life when I really, really cried. The first time was when I was a freshman in college. I had been dating my first love for about a year, and then we broke up. I cried a lot. The second time was much later. I had a little Yorkshire Terrier who lived with me for eight years. She became very sick and had to receive IV fluids. Eventually, she crossed the rainbow bridge. At first, I didn’t cry. I held everything inside for weeks. Then one day, a friend told me, “If you’re too sad, just cry.” A few days later, I was walking outside when suddenly, all my emotions came out. I started sobbing loudly right there on the street. People passing by probably thought, “What happened to that woman...