One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

I check the weather forecast several times a day. Some people check the weather just because they want to know if it will rain. But I have a few more practical reasons. First, walking my dogs! Ruby and Rich wait for me to take them for a walk. But when it rains, things get a little complicated. I check the forecast to see when the rain might stop. A little later, I check it again. The weather in Jeju changes so often that I sometimes feel I need to check the forecast every few minutes! Laundry is another problem. I dry my clothes outside in the yard. If rain is coming, I have to decide whether to do the laundry or wait. If I hang the clothes outside and it starts raining, I feel unlucky. But if I don't do the laundry and it never rains, I feel a little sorry that I missed my chance. You can't win every time! 😀💗 And then, there's golf! Tomorrow, I'm playing a fun round of golf with some friends from my small golf group at Phantom CC, which is close to my home. Our tee ...

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...

This morning, I played nine holes of golf. After lunch, I went to the driving range and practiced gently for almost an hour. Then I received a delivery message. My order had arrived! I had ordered two long wall panels two days earlier. For about two years, I had wanted to change the wall behind my sofa. It was not an urgent job, so I kept putting it off. Then, while watching YouTube, I found an idea I liked. 'This is it!' My curtains are ivory, so I thought light wood-colored panels would look good with them. As soon as I received the delivery message, I could no longer concentrate on my practice. I left the range and went straight home. I did not even take a shower before starting the job. But it was not as easy as I had expected. The panels were slightly curved, and I had to attach two large pieces, one above the other. If they were not level or if the edges lifted, I could ruin the whole job. I might even have to throw the panels away. 'I wish someone were here to hold o...

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. 😊 ...

Now that I’ve lived to 60, I’ve realized something . Getting older doesn’t necessarily mean that your heart gets older, too. My heart is still in its twenties sometimes. When I want to do something, I want to try it. When I see something new, I get curious. And when there’s something I really want to do well, I still get ambitious. Today was a perfect example. I went to the golf practice range, and for some reason, the swing that worked so beautifully yesterday just wouldn’t work today. At first, I made a small adjustment. Nope. I changed something else. Still no. Before I knew it, golf practice had turned into a battle between me and my swing. “Why isn’t this working?” I gave myself so many sarcastic little smiles. 😏 There I was, 60 years old, holding a golf club and acting like a competitive twenty-something. Eventually, after changing this and that, I managed to get about 80% of my swing back. But by then, both my body and my mind were pretty much wrecked from the battle. ㅎㅎ And th...

I think life is better when we live with people rather than completely alone. During COVID, many of my relationships naturally became distant. In some ways, that was a good experience for me. I learned that I could enjoy being alone. I learned that I could spend quiet days by myself and still be perfectly fine. But after a while, I realized something very simple. I actually like people. Maybe I have always been that way. I enjoy living alone, and I love my quiet time. But warm conversations, laughter, sharing a meal, playing golf together, or simply having a small connection with someone are still precious parts of my life. I just had to learn a different way of being with people. For a long time, I think I was a little bit of a dictator. ㅎㅎ Especially with my family. Because I was older and had experienced many things, I sometimes thought I knew more. So I would say, “Let's do this together.” “Let's go there.” “This will be fun!” And then I would organize all kinds of family e...

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...

When I was young, I often said things like, “Without you, I can’t live.” I heard those words in songs, poems, and love stories. And honestly, I probably believed them, too. But after living for 60 years, I have come to see life a little differently. Life is my own stage. Without me, nothing matters at all. I don't mean that the world cannot exist without me. I mean that my life cannot have meaning if I am not taking care of myself and living my own life. I often tell my students this when they don't study very hard. Before telling them to study more, I want them to know something more important: You are important. You are the main character in your own life. Your health is for you. Your education is for you. Your dreams are for you. And I think the most basic way to take care of yourself is surprisingly simple. Eat well. So this morning, I made a really good breakfast. I cooked a pot of mixed-grain rice with beans and other grains, and I was happy to eat it while it was still w...

I Enjoy My Life on My Own Today, everything seemed to fall into place. About two weeks ago, around Chuseok, I bought a tumbler. It came with a drink coupon, and I had kept it for about two weeks. Today, I suddenly thought, “I’d better use it before I lose it.” 😄 So I went to a café and ordered a café latte. I filled my favorite green tumbler with it. My first little extra of the day: a free café latte. It was something small, but it made me happy. Then I noticed a small problem with my glasses. I thought, “I should get this fixed today.” So I went to my regular optician. I don’t go there very often, but it is the shop I have used for a long time whenever I need something for my glasses. They fixed my glasses right away. For free. But that wasn’t the end of it. I was looking at some sports sunglasses because I wanted a pair for golf. I found one I really liked. I said, “These would be nice for golf.” The owner said, “Just take them. They’re not that expensive.”...

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...