Month: December 2015

As I was walking the course, in a detached from the score mode, in the flow, zoned out kind of place, a fellow player asked what I shot on the front. It’s the sixteenth hole when she asked, and all I could think was, “Am I playing that well?” It was a relaxing round with very few hiccups. So when this question entered my awareness, I started to think about my score and if I was having a personal best or close to it.

On my way to the seventeenth hole, a bit of apprehension came into my consciousness. If I were having a really good scoring round, I’d better not blow it and play safe. This, of course, is fear in a low vibration, and it will only play havoc with your game and focus if you let it in. Needless to say, I did (let it in), and my going with the flow, focus on fun was smothered, which contributed to a double bogey on the last two holes.

When my awareness shifted to the outcome instead of living in the moment, my concentration was choked, and I failed to determine if the putts were uphill or down, causing both to lip out. I knew the angels were reaffirming a valuable lesson, especially when I saw one of the chapters—Scrap the Score—in my mind’s eye.  In hindsight, I realize my playing partner’s question was out of character, and therefore, had to have been orchestrated by the angels to wallop me out of my old ways, yet again.

I take full responsibility for giving the result greater prominence than extracting pure pleasure from each shot. I could have easily chosen to go about my round in the usual fashion, oblivious of the outcome. The metaphoric message may possibly be not to be sidetracked by others or outside influence and to remain detached, deliberately determined, and downright zoomed in.

I realize detaching from the outcome gives the Angels full liberty to fill in the blanks, without my mind hindering the results, providing amazing synchronicities and maybe even a hole-in-one. I’m learning to leave room for a plethora of possibilities.

Golfing with the Angels is available at Amazon https://bit.ly/4jYHGTR

 

Serendipitous signs are everywhere. Like today, when looking over my chip shot on the second hole for a target line, there was not one to be found. The greens were immaculate and shining in the early morning November sun. As I stood behind the ball, I asked for a target line, and sure enough, as if on cue from the Universe, a leaf-like thing, gliding ever so gently and twirling in the breeze, landed ten feet in front of the ball. It seemed as if I was on a Hollywood set, and the director called for action. This turned out to be the precise target line, which left me a tap-in putt. The angels have impeccable timing and a whole repertoire of gadgets, gizmos, and leaf-like things up their wings.

As I was putting for birdie a few holes later, my putt hit an old ball mark—bump in the road—and was thrown ever so slightly off course. The tap-in par was fine, although there was an ounce of disappointment, especially since I had hit two incredible shots to get on the green in regulation to have this birdie putt. It felt like a lost opportunity. On the very next hole, my drive landed in the right rough, second shot in the greenside bunker, third shot five feet from the hole, fourth shot in the hole for par … oh so gratifying.

Examining these two back-to-back pars, the first was nice and easy, but the second one was much more rewarding, fulfilling, and all around more fun being able to squeak out a par with the obstacles in my path. I realized, sometimes we are thrown off course by a bump in the road, which could be discouraging.  By taking the scenic route—bypassing the fairway—it encouraged me to focus and dig deep. These challenges and hurdles strengthened my conviction—metaphorically speaking, if our life is on a direct course, or if we go astray, the results can be the same with focus on the goal … or the hole.

Another lesson surfaced on the ninth hole as I was standing over a thirty-foot putt. The sink line the angels provided—straight—didn’t seem right.  There was shade and sun mixed through the green, which created an illusion.  To my eye, it seemed the putt would break hard right.  As I pondered this dilemma, I went with my decision and three-putted. Trust is a tricky thing. Just when I feel I’ve mastered it, the angels throw an illusion my way.  As the ball turns, so does this, as another metaphor mirroring my life, reminding me the angels are always supporting me, even if there is a trompe l’oeil staring me in the face.

It can be difficult to take your hands off the wheel. It’s a scary thing. As your angelic trust grows in teeny matters, you will gain confidence and faith in the colossal ones, too—like club selection—now we’re talking spine-chilling!  The angels have our back. Oh the lengths they go!

Golfing with the Angels is available at Amazon https://bit.ly/4jYHGTR