By Doug Swanson
Sport is most of all fun. We do our sport because we are exhilarated by the "game" and its essence. We love it for what it brings to us and for what we can bring to it. Loving our sport is a very private thing. Many times it is extremely difficult to explain it to others, because the sport essence, as we feel it, is almost always at a deep-tissue spot in our gut, where only we can go. Even two people who passionately love the same game cannot really share what the game means to the other. Nevertheless, our game, our sport, is a cherished activity that enlivens us.
The joy and vitality that sport brings to us are without parallel. There is a channeling, a deep focus, and a sense of challenge that brings us from our malaise. Few other "things" bring us from our chairs to heart palpitations as quickly, and as deftly as our sport. But, sport is not the journey. Sport is the vehicle through which we manage the adventure. We are the journey and we decide the nature of the journey that we will have as we strive to achieve dreams, aspirations, and a favoured destination.
So how should we partake in this? What are the guideposts? Is it something with a beginning, middle, and end? What end? How do we move forward? These questions can perplex us, and no one answer is "best". A healthy orientation that can help us live well in our sport is to accept that we must fully participate in the journey (each day, each moment) so that we can give ourselves the "best chance" of getting to the destination. Is there only one journey? Is it ever done? Not easy questions to answer either Enjoying any journey is to enjoy the "demands" that it brings to us.
The dream focuses us; the tasks ground us. The journey moves us! As we pursue our fondest desires we are most healthy when we become the tasks that are immediately in front of us and live those well. I think we need to occasionally "peek" at the dream (rather than live in the dream) and then divert our vision to the present tasks, the journey. We should enjoy the day, live it fully, as it is our only true moment to be exactly who we are. BE THE JOURNEY.
The Brent Morrison Golf Academy is located at Pheasant Glen Golf Resort, 1025 Qualicum Road, Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1M5. (250) 752-8786. For more information on instruction programs for adults and juniors, contact the Academy office.
