One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

One of my chopsticks had been missing for almost two weeks. I looked everywhere in the kitchen. I checked the drawers, the dining table, and all the little corners where I might have accidentally put it. Nothing. I started wondering, “Where on earth did you go? Did you fly up to the sky, or did the ground swallow you?” 😄 The problem was that these chopsticks were part of a matching set. Only one chopstick was missing. Every time I ate, I had to use a different chopstick with it. It was such a small thing, but it kept bothering me. At one point, I even thought, “Maybe I should just throw the whole set away and buy a new one.” Then today, something unexpected happened. I was walking past a corner of my vegetable garden when I suddenly noticed something. Wait… is that it? It was my missing chopstick! I think I must have accidentally thrown it into the garden together with a huge pile of watermelon peels when I bought two watermelons and cut them up for the refrigerator...

These days, I sometimes ask myself, “What did I actually do today?” I didn't go anywhere special. I didn't do anything extraordinary. And yet, somehow, the day disappears so quickly. So I started thinking about what I actually do. Before taking the dogs for their morning walk, I turn on the robot vacuum. Then I take my two dogs for a walk. When we come home, I brush their fur. I make mixed-grain rice, wash and cook some bean sprouts, season them, and fry a couple of eggs. I eat breakfast, take my medicine, wash the dishes, and make myself a cup of coffee. And somehow, a good part of the morning is already gone. Then there is something else that comes with having two dogs. Opening the door. They want to go outside. They come and stand next to me, so I open the door. A little later, they want to come back inside. So they stand at the door and bark. I go and open the door again. A little later... They want to go outside again. Open the door. Then ...

Today was my hospital day. Every three months, I travel to a hospital in Jeju City for a regular checkup. It is quite far from my home, but I have continued going there because it is a general hospital and I also have detailed blood tests twice a year. So this morning, I made up my mind to take the bus. At 7:25 a.m., I arrived at the bus stop. Because there have been more COVID cases around lately, I was already thinking about the long bus ride with my mask on the whole way. I was standing just outside the bus stop, holding my mask in my hand so I could put it on as soon as the bus arrived. And then something unexpected happened. Someone I knew came walking toward me. “Where are you going?” “I’m going to Halla Hospital. I’m waiting for the bus.” “Oh, I’m going that way, too. Come with me in my car.” What?! 😂 I was simply waiting for the bus, and suddenly a car came instead. He is a restaurant owner who recently opened his second restaurant. We also happen to be members of the same gol...

It rained a lot yesterday and today. I had actually been waiting for the rain. A while ago, I planted cabbage seeds in my little vegetable garden. Soon, tiny cabbages began growing everywhere, very close together. They were still baby cabbages, not big mature heads. I have been thinning them out little by little and eating the small ones as they grow. The problem is that bugs love cabbage. When the seedlings first appeared, I saw quite a few bugs, so I used a little insecticide. But then, almost no rain came. I kept watering the garden with tap water, but I still felt a little uneasy about eating the cabbages. So I waited. I wanted to wait for a good amount of rain before I started eating them. Finally, yesterday and today, we had plenty of rain. After the rain, I went out to my garden. The wet black Jeju stones were shining, and the little green cabbages were everywhere. Today, I picked a few of the baby cabbages. I washed them well and made a simple Korean soybean past...

Maybe Life Really Is About How I Choose to See It A week ago, we had very strong winds, almost like a typhoon. So today, I finally decided to go to my field and check my Hwangchil trees. I wanted to see if any trees had fallen and how much the weeds had grown. I got into my car and started driving. Today, I wasn't planning to work very hard. I stopped at a café on the way and got an iced café latte and a sweet pastry. I thought I would just have a light and easy day at the field. Then, about 20 minutes into the drive, I suddenly realized something. Oops. I forgot my work boots! 😂 I looked down at my feet. I was wearing summer slippers. I thought about turning the car around and going home. Then I remembered something. I had a pair of golf shoes in my trunk! Problem solved. Today, I was going to work in my golf shoes. 😂 My Car Became a Karaoke Room The drive to my field takes almost an hour, and I know the road very well. Sometimes, even a beautiful road can feel boring when you ...