Searching for the Meaning of Life

Since I know next to nothing about basketball except that it's played by ten tall people in really baggy shorts and involves a large, inflated, ball, hoops and nets I will use golf as a metaphor... for life.

Why is it a metaphor for life? It has hazards, it has traps, it has fair ways, it has risks/rewards and it is unpredictable... despite what that gypsy with the crystal ball says. And I happen to love the game.

It is also frustrating and, after all, isn't that the essence of life?

No matter how good you feel when you wake up, things can always get worse... and often do. I never wake up feeling good. I wake up feeling tired. That's one of the ironic things about life. You spend 6-8 hours asleep (most nights anyway) and wake up feeling groggy and tired. Pretty much worse than you felt before you went to sleep. I would have said "before you went to bed" but, sometimes when you go to bed, sleep is not involved (at least not immediately) and you are full of energy and joy.

So you get up, drag yourself out to the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and try to put a positive spin on things. It helps if you do not glance into a mirror on the way... trust me.

And that is much the way I approach golf. With hope and optimism. And, by the end of a round (and often much sooner), just as by the end of another day, my optimism and hope have been crushed by my inability to cope with small setbacks and events that are beyond my control.