One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

Yesterday, I had lunch with a close friend. The autumn sun was quite strong, but we did not want to go home right after lunch. So we decided to walk for about 30 minutes. There is a small park near my home called Jeongmosi Shelter , above Jeongbang Waterfall. I had discovered it while walking Ruby and Rich. It is surrounded by trees, so it is cool even on sunny days. A small stream runs through the park, and there are little waterfalls and stream along the way. I had always liked this place. But recently, I noticed something was changing. More and more flowers were being planted. I often wondered, Who is doing all this? Yesterday, I finally found out. Two people were working with the flowers in the park. They told us that they were slowly turning the park into a beautiful garden. I suddenly had so many questions. “What kind of flowers are you planting?” “When did you start?” “Are you changing the whole park?” “What kind of flower is this?” I kept asking questions. 😊 ...

This morning, as soon as I woke up, I said something to myself. “If I can’t avoid it, let’s enjoy it!!!!!!!!!!!!” These days, Ruby and Rich often wake me up one after another during the night. So I sometimes don’t get enough deep sleep, and I feel a little tired when I wake up. But what can I do? This is my life. So I decided to enjoy the day anyway. Today Was My Day to Work in My Field Today, I had decided to go to my field in Yong-su-ri. I packed my weed sprayer and headed out. But when I arrived, I was surprised. There were not many weeds. It had not rained for quite a while, and we had only had some rain during the last two days. The summer heat had also gone down a little. There were some weeds in one area, but instead of spraying weed killer, I decided to pull them out myself. Honestly, I don't feel completely comfortable using too much weed killer on my own land. So I spent about one hour pulling weeds by hand. And that wasn't all. I also cleaned up the ...

This morning, I made my garden bigger. Well… not really. 😂 I didn’t buy any more land. I didn’t move the fence. I simply cleaned up my very full summer garden. All summer long, one corner of my garden had been almost completely covered with flowers. There was a big salvia bush, almost as tall as I am, covered with beautiful blue flowers. Other flowers had also grown wildly, filling the garden with colorful blooms throughout the hot summer. I loved looking at them. They gave me so much happiness during those long, hot months. But underneath all those flowers, something else was happening. My little chrysanthemums were struggling to survive. They were hiding underneath the big plants, almost as if they were saying, “Please save me!” 😂 So today, I decided it was time to make some room. I started cutting. And cutting. And cutting. I also pulled out the weeds that had quietly grown underneath everything. Of course, I wasn't alone. The mosquitoes were there, too. ...

Yesterday, I met a close older friend for lunch. We hadn’t seen each other for a little while, so we had a lot to talk about. These days, one of our favorite topics is surprisingly simple: weeds. 😂 Yes, weeds. We talk about how to get rid of them, how quickly they grow, and how much easier life becomes when the weeds are under control. Then, naturally, our conversation moves to the trees we grow in our fields. She grows olive trees, and I have quite a bit of experience growing Hwangchil trees. Since my mother was a farmer, I grew up hearing and learning a lot about farming, so I sometimes find myself giving her little pieces of advice. For example, when I first planted my Hwangchil trees, I learned how important it was to help the roots settle well into the ground. Jeju is famous for its strong winds. If a young tree isn't planted firmly enough and its roots aren't well established, the tree can keep shaking in the wind—and sometimes, it may not survive. So there we were, sit...