One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

These days, something very small makes me happy. Every time I open and close the screen door in my living room, I smile to myself. “I made this. 😁💓” It was actually pretty hard to make. I struggled with it more than I expected, and there were several moments when I wondered if I could finish it. But after all that work, something funny happened. Every time I open and close the door, I feel a little proud. It reminds me, “I did it.” Maybe this is one kind of small happiness. Then I started thinking about my Hwangchil trees. A few years ago, I planted young Hwangchil trees in Yongsu-ri, Jeju. They were three-year-old saplings, but they were only about 30 centimeters tall and very thin. I was worried that weeds would grow around them and make it difficult for the little trees to survive, so I covered the entire field with expensive black weed-control fabric. I used long U-shaped metal pins and pushed them into the ground between the trees. I even hired people and paid them for a full da...

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...