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,...

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...

People in Korea often say, “If you’re jealous, you lose.” Well, yesterday, I lost. And today, I’m still laughing about it. 😄 Let me tell you why. Four Women Were Dancing on the Golf Course! Yesterday, I had an early morning tee time at Shineville Country Club in Jeju. The weather forecast had been worrying me since the night before. A strong autumn typhoon was expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Jeju from around noon. Our tee time was 7:50 a.m., so there was a chance we might get caught in the rain during the last two or three holes. I spent the evening preparing clothes, an umbrella, and all sorts of things I might need. Even that morning, I kept wondering what to wear. What if my clothes got wet? What would be comfortable in the wind? I finally got dressed, drove to the golf course, and joined my group. While waiting on the golf cart near the first tee, I noticed something happening in the distance. Four women, who looked to be around my age, were dancing on the grass n...

I am not an excellent cook. I would say I am somewhere in the middle. Some people are truly talented at cooking. Their dishes look and taste special, and I admire them. My cooking is much more ordinary. 😁💗 But I enjoy making my own meals, especially when I can use fresh vegetables from my little garden. This morning, I picked some chives from my yard and cooked them with tomatoes, onions, and eggs. I added a little oyster sauce this time, and the result was delicious! I have learned that eating healthy does not mean I have to eat bland food every day. I enjoy food, so I want my meals to be both healthy and tasty. Growing chives also takes a little work. People might think you can simply plant them and let them grow, but I need to remove weeds by hand, add a little fertilizer, and cut and clean the chives one by one before cooking. The last part is probably the most tiring! Still, my chives grow beautifully without pesticides, and I can enjoy fresh ones from my own garden almost all y...

I think I finally understand something about life. Nobody can love me exactly the way I can love myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t want people in my life. I do. I want good people around me. I want someone to have lunch with, laugh with, talk about golf with, and sometimes just say, “That was fun.” But I don’t need anyone to become the main character of my life. My life is already my life. So I came up with a new rule for my 60s: Life will be my show time. People can join the show. They can laugh with me. They can have lunch with me. They can even steal a little scene or two. But nobody gets to take over the stage. 😎 I spent many years trying to understand people and relationships. Now I think it can be much simpler. If someone makes my life warmer, funnier, or more interesting, welcome. If someone makes my life complicated, I can simply step back. No drama. No big goodbye speech. Just… “Okay, take care.” 😂😀 At 60, I finally know that loving someone does not mean giving them the ste...

While watching a movie, I heard a sentence that stayed with me. It said that when two people meet, especially when they get married, it is like two rivers coming together. But we should not sacrifice ourselves just to fill the other person's river. I had never heard this expression before, and I found it very interesting. In my parents' generation, people often made many sacrifices to support each other. That was how they showed love and kept their marriages together. But times have changed. In Korea, many couples now share their wedding expenses equally. At first, this idea felt a little strange to me as someone over 60. But gradually, I began to understand it. Sharing wedding expenses equally is not just about money. Perhaps it also means that both people want to live as equals after marriage. Now that I am over 60, I have come to believe that this kind of balance matters in all human relationships, not just marriage. By balance, I do not mean that everything must be divided ...

I started this blog in late February 2026, the year I turned 60. Before that, I had never even used ordinary social media. I had no particular plan to become a blogger, attract readers, or build an audience. I simply wanted a place to record my everyday life. My life in Jeju was already full of little things I enjoyed: golf, my two dogs, Ruby and Rich, the changing seasons in my garden, teaching English, and discovering what it means to live well after 60. So I started writing. Some days, I wrote about golf and the small things I was learning about my swing. Other days, I wrote about living alone, taking care of my dogs, enjoying an ordinary afternoon, or finding a new perspective on life. I never thought these everyday stories would attract much attention. But recently, something unexpected has been happening. My daily visitors have been steadily increasing. And today, when I saw the number suddenly reach 938, I was genuinely surprised. I was getting close to 1,000 visitors a day. For...

Today, I finally fixed something that had been bothering me for years. It was the wall above my bed. I had tried different things before, including a fabric picture that never quite looked right. For two or three years, I simply left it there, even though it bothered me whenever I looked at it. Today, I decided to do something about it. I thought it would be a simple job. Just attach some palm boards to the wall, and I would be done. Of course, things didn't go as planned. The wallpaper behind the boards was poorly attached, so I had to remove it. Then I discovered that the palm boards were slightly too small. Oh, no! Luckily, I had kept some leftover wallpaper. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to cover the missing part. After measuring, adjusting, and pinning everything into place, I finally finished the job. The result wasn't absolutely perfect. The boards above my bed are a little crooked. Funny enough, I had done a better job with the much larger boards in my livin...

Today, I practiced golf like a golfer in my twenties. Why? (smile) Let me tell you what happened. Am I Living Like a Little Old Lady? For a while, my fingers had been hurting, so I became very careful with my golf practice. If I hit a few good shots, I would stop. Even when I felt like practicing a little longer, I would tell myself to take it easy. Of course, taking care of my body is important. But little by little, I started getting bored with this careful way of living. Then one day, I suddenly realized something. Wait a minute! Am I living like a little old lady already? I'm only 60! I still consider myself young! (smile) When did I become so careful about everything? I was acting as if I had to save every bit of energy for some distant future. But that's not really me. I love golf. I love swinging freely and watching the ball fly. I want to keep improving my swing and enjoy the game for as long as I can. I don't want to spend so much time protecting myself that I forg...

Have you ever made your home feel like a different place for less than $50? Yesterday, I gave my living room a complete makeover with foam wall panels that cost only 38,000 won. I also covered my sofa with a beautiful fabric cover I had bought some time ago. The whole room feels different now. When I sit on my sofa, I feel as if I have checked into a lovely new hotel. But the best part isn't the money I saved. It's the feeling of accomplishment. The job required some help, but I decided to challenge myself and see if I could do it. And I did it without failing! That little success gave me more confidence in myself. Sometimes, trying something new and discovering that we can actually do it is more rewarding than we expect. Now, I have something else to look forward to. In front of my house, a row of yellow chrysanthemums is growing beside my vegetable garden. Each flower is small, but the bushes are covered with so many little blooms. In about a week, I expect to see them in ful...