One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

This morning, while walking with Ruby and Rich, I suddenly felt tears in my eyes. Every morning, they still bother me. “Let’s go for a walk!” They wake me up, ask me to hurry, and remind me again if I take too long. Usually, I think of it as just part of my daily routine. But this morning, I suddenly felt grateful for it. I looked at them and thought, How long will they be able to walk beside me like this? It has already been three months since Ruby fell off a cliff. At that time, I was too busy trying to save her, taking her to the hospital, and treating her wounds to really think about what had happened. I only had one thought: I had to save her. Recently, one of my old blog posts became popular again and moved up the list. So I read it again. It felt like the person I was three months ago and the person I am today were sitting across from each other, with that old post between us. And this time, I realized just how serious the situation had been. There were rocks below the cliff, th...

Today, I completed my biggest project of the year. 🌱 It wasn't a golf tournament. It wasn't a work project. It was my winter vegetable garden. 😂 Jeju has relatively mild winters, so many vegetables can grow outdoors without freezing. If I plant winter cabbage, young cabbage, lettuce, and other vegetables in the fall, I can enjoy fresh vegetables from my own garden throughout the winter. So, I finally completed everything I had planned. A week ago, I cleaned up the entire garden. Three days ago, I spent two full hours turning over the soil with a shovel. I was sweating so much that I felt like I had just come out of a sauna. 😂 And honestly, I loved it. Yesterday, I went to the local market and bought all the seeds and seedlings I needed. This morning, after walking my dogs, I looked at my garden and said: “Ready to go!” 🌱 Then I spent another two hours planting everything according to my plan. Project complete! ✅ Now I am already looking forward to the lon...

I don't think I have more luck than other people. I think I've simply learned how to notice it. We often hear that everyone gets a few big strokes of luck in life. But these days, I wonder if luck comes to us much more often than that. Maybe many of our lucky moments are just too small to notice. For me, a good cup of coffee can be a little piece of luck. A delicious meal shared with someone I like can be a little piece of luck. A beautiful golf shot that comes unexpectedly can be a little piece of luck. Even a funny scene at a swimming pool can become a little piece of luck. Yesterday, for example, I saw several senior swimmers secretly following an aqua exercise class from a distance. They knew they weren't actually part of the class, and they were smiling as they copied every movement. It was so funny that I started laughing to myself. And then, without even realizing it, I started following along with them in the water. Yes, I joined their little secret lesson, too. ㅎㅎ ...

When I was younger, I made plenty of mistakes. Some decisions turned out to be the wrong ones. Some paths led me somewhere I never wanted to be. I wish I could say I always made wise choices. I didn't. Life taught me through trial and error. Looking back, however, I don't regret those years. They helped me discover who I really am. Every wrong turn taught me something. Not only about life... But also about myself. One thing I'm grateful for is this. Whenever I realized I was walking in the wrong direction, I didn't stay there for long. I stopped. I changed direction. And I found my way back to myself. I have seen people continue down a path they already know isn't right. Sometimes because they are afraid. Sometimes because they have already invested too much time. Sometimes because changing direction feels like failure. But I have learned something different. Changing direction is not failure. Sometimes it is the bravest decision we can make. Today, my life feels pe...

Financial stability is important. Mental stability is important too. But I do not believe that having more money automatically makes people happier. I think happiness depends more on how a person manages life internally. In my case, if I have more, I spend a little more. If I have less, I naturally spend less too. Of course, this only works when there is no serious debt and basic financial stability exists first. Balance has always been more important to me  than simply having more and better. Even when I was young, I spent most of my time working because I genuinely liked working. Of course, work brings stress sometimes, but I still enjoyed being productive. Because I stayed busy, I did not spend money carelessly. Instead, I had more opportunities to save naturally. I think diligent people often worry less about the basics of life. Not because life is easy, but because steady habits quietly protect them over time. Golf taught me something similar. I love golf, but I also know how ...

I Dreamed of Becoming Capable Enough to Protect My Own Life and Kind Enough to Help Others Along the Way. When I was younger, I worked hard. Like many people, I wanted to succeed. I wanted to learn, grow, and become better at what I did. Over the years, I worked in different roles, met different people, and experienced different challenges. Looking back, however, I realize something important. I never dreamed of becoming powerful. I was not chasing status for its own sake. I was not trying to become someone important. What I truly wanted was much simpler. I wanted to become capable enough to protect my own life. I wanted the freedom that comes from competence. The ability to solve problems. The confidence to stand on my own feet. The wisdom to make decisions without constantly depending on others. Perhaps that was why I worked so hard during those years. Not because I wanted power. But because I wanted independence. Today, my life looks much quieter. I spend time with my two dogs. I pl...

Sometimes, I ask myself this question.  Why do new ideas keep coming to me?  Why can I continue writing story after story—about golf, English, and life—without feeling empty?  I think I finally understand the answer.  It is not because I am trying to create something new.  It is because I am revisiting something old.  The thoughts I write about today were not formed yesterday.  Many of them have been quietly growing inside me for decades.  Since my twenties, I have spent a great deal of time thinking about life.  When life felt difficult, I often asked myself: What is life really about?   I read many philosophers, hoping to find a clear answer.   But in the end, I realized something simple:  Even philosophers do not have a final answer. Perhaps the best we can do is this: To live fully.  To enjoy the present. To stay curious and grateful.  That may be enough. Looking back, I also realize something else....

At the beginning of this week, I didn't have any special plans. The rainy season had just begun, and the weather forecast called for rain throughout the week. I thought it would be a quiet, uneventful few days. But life has a funny way of surprising us. Yesterday, I was unexpectedly invited to play golf with good people. That same evening, my younger sister quietly sent me a box of fresh corn and vegetables without saying much. Earlier in the week, I also received a call from the police asking if I could help as an interpreter. Normally, I wouldn't have been available in the evening, but because it was exam week, my schedule happened to be open at exactly the right time. Sometimes I feel that life brings me unexpected blessings more often than hardships. When I was young, my mother often joked that I had been born with good financial luck. Believe it or not, she said that on the very day I was born, my father won a lottery prize and brought home more money than usual. Whether t...

To be honest, when I first started this blog, I had a simple goal. I wanted to become a popular blogger. There is nothing wrong with that. We all enjoy knowing that our stories are being read and appreciated. But somewhere along the way, something quietly changed inside me. These days, I no longer write to become popular. I write because I enjoy it. Writing has become a conversation with myself, almost like keeping a journal. Instead of trying to create impressive stories, I simply write about whatever feels real that day. Some days it's golf. Some days it's English. Some days it's just an ordinary moment that makes me smile. I've realized that forcing a story never feels as satisfying as letting one naturally appear. Maybe that also reflects my personality. I've always enjoyed laughing, finding small joys, and keeping life lighthearted. So I decided to stop trying to write the "perfect" blog post. I would rather write an honest one. At sixty, becoming a f...

When I first lived in the United States, I experienced a bit of culture shock. People told me that they had different groups of friends for different activities. Golf friends. Work friends. Travel friends. Coffee friends. At that time, I couldn't understand it. In Korea, when we become close friends, we often try to do everything together. We study together, travel together, exercise together, and spend weekends together. I thought that was what real friendship meant. Now, almost twenty years later, I finally understand. These days, most of my free time naturally revolves around golf. I have friends I play golf with. I have friends I enjoy having dinner or coffee with. I have people I simply greet at the driving range. And somehow, that feels completely natural. To be honest, I hesitated to write this. Some people might think this sounds selfish. But that's not what I mean. Until about five years ago, I was the leader of a group of eight close hometown friends. We had known eac...

For many years, I believed that the second half of life should become quieter. I thought peace meant protecting my small world. Living simply. Enjoying golf. Taking care of Ruby and Rich. Reading books. Growing vegetables. That seemed like enough. If you had asked me ten years ago whether I would openly share my mistakes with the world, my answer would have been simple. "Never." Back then, I would have shared only my good shots, my achievements, and my successes. The rest would have stayed hidden. But something changed this year. When I turned sixty, I didn't just grow older. I changed the direction of my life. Instead of asking, "How can I protect my peace?" I started asking, "How can my experiences help someone else?" That one question changed everything. Today, many people post perfect moments on social media. Beautiful trips. Beautiful swings. Beautiful lives. There's nothing wrong with that. But I've discovered that perfect stories rarely ...

Every now and then, I accidentally drop one of my dogs' leashes during our walk. Whenever that happens, Ruby and Rich react in completely different ways. Rich becomes the happiest dog in the world. Dragging his long leash behind him, he takes off like a free spirit, running from one place to another as if he has been waiting for this moment all day. At first, I always worry about two things. First, I hope no one gets scared when they see a large dog running freely. Rich has never shown aggression toward people, but I know not everyone is comfortable around big dogs. Second, I worry that his long leash might get caught on a tree, a fence, or a rock. If that happened, he might not be able to free himself. The funny part is that Rich never really runs away. About twenty or thirty minutes later, he always comes home by himself. During those twenty minutes, I have absolutely no chance of catching him. Even if I hold his favorite treats in my hand, freedom is simply more exci...

For almost ten years, Ruby and Rich had a favorite morning walking trail. It was quiet before sunrise, with very few people around. We walked there almost every day, and it became part of our routine. Two months ago, everything changed. Ruby accidentally fell off a cliff during one of our walks. Thankfully, she recovered, but after that day, I never took that trail again. It wasn't only because it was dangerous. I simply didn't want every walk to begin with anxiety instead of joy. Rich loved that trail even more than Ruby did. Normally, when Rich wants to go somewhere, he lets me know. He gently but firmly pulls the leash toward the direction he wants. Sometimes I follow him. He enjoys exploring new paths. But something surprised me. For the past two months, every morning we have passed the entrance to that trail. Not once has Rich tried to pull me toward it. I don't know whether he remembers what happened that day or whether he simply senses how I feel. Either way, he quie...

I didn't play golf today. And somehow, I'm still having a very happy day. Rain was in the forecast today. Usually, I might have felt a little disappointed. “Of all days, why does it have to rain today?” But today was different. At around 4:30 a.m., I went for my usual walk with Ruby and Rich. The forecast said the rain would start at 6, but less than three minutes into our walk, I felt a few raindrops. We hadn't had much rain for almost a month, and farmers were already suffering from damage to their crops because of the prolonged dry weather. So this time, I didn't mind the rain coming early at all. Normally, I might have complained, “Oh, come on. Why is it raining already?” But today, I thought, “That's okay, rain. You can come early. Pour as much as you want.” After such a long dry spell, the rain felt like something to be grateful for.  We quickly went to a nearby park so the dogs could do their business, and then we headed home. But just as we were getti...