FINALLY...I KNOW WHAT GOLF IS ALL ABOUT

I went to the Kagitingan driving range last night to practice in preparation for our golf get together on Friday. After not having touched my clubs for more than a year,I felt awkward and concerned that rather than help me, the practice might even make things worse.

But after I went through the basics and started hitting the ball well, I started gaining more confidence. Then I had an insight.

I often heard golf commentators talk of how well-balanced great golfers were after they hit the ball. So I worked on setting up properly and aiming for balance whenever I hit the ball.

Voila! I struck the balls more squarely.

Then I focused on slowing down my takeaway and finishing my backswing so I was in good balance from the backswing to the downswing. I started hitting the balls more consistently.

Good balance and a slow backswing allowed my head to keep still and also help me make a better turn.

Then, I told myself make things more effortless so that I wasn't putting a lot of muscle on the downswing. I started hitting the balls pure and didn't get any jarring feelings on my hands!

It was as if I had learned what golf was all about in that one practice session.

BALANCE. SLOW BUT SURE. EFFORTLESS

WHAT MAKES A SUICIDE BOMBER TICK?

I caught a portion of a foreign film on the tube yesterday afternoon. It was about two Arabs (I guess),Said and Khaled, who were chosen by their terrorist mates to go on a suicide bombing mission in Tel Aviv. Although I wasn't able to watch the whole movie,it was enough to provide me with a glimpse of what these war torn countries must be going through.

For example,there was a scene where they were being videotaped making their final "suicide" messages to their families. Khaled,the supposedly more fanatical of the two, suddenly stops in the middle of the taping and tells his mom to buy a particular brand of water filters because it's cheaper and more reliable. Later in the film,I learn that water filters are important to them because the water in that country has been polluted with sediments and chemicals that make it unsafe to drink.

In another scene,a shop that repairs watches is shown selling these videotapes and I also learn that the tapes sell for a lot of money! Although I suspect the movie is poking some fun,there must be a hint of truth in this practice.

I have come to believe that suicide bombers must really be just plain bonkers to go on these senseless killing sprees. But the film made me realize that maybe after all,these suicide bombers were motivated by a something more noble than just having sex with 72 virgins in the afterlife.

In a dialogue between between the two friends, Said tells Khaled that something must be done to stop the injustice of being dictated to by their oppressors (the Israelis.) But since nobody seems to be doing something about it,then it is up to individuals (like them) to put a stop to it!

It's as if he was saying that without his freedom he couldn't live like a decent human being anyway. At least by killing Israelis and himself along the way,he will have asserted his freedom and perhaps achieved something,rather than just bearing the suffering of oppression.

THE SAVING POWER OF INSIGHT:OR HOW I SAW THE BRIGHT SIDE OF A BAD SITUATION

My Mazda Familia has been in and out of the shop lately for repairs. The latest,which cost me 47,000 involved a major overhaul of the engine, requiring a change of all valves etc. This was after it had undergone repair whcih cost me 23,000,when the timing belt broke while Jaja was on the way to Pampanga. Prior to that I shelled out 27,000 to replace the throttle body which was the cause of erratic idling.

Recently, the erratic idling showed up again and when I returned it to the shop they diagnosed the problem to be caused by the throttle body which they said was defective in the first place. Now, I'm in a dilemma because the supplier can always claim that he had put in a new unit last December and that any damage that may have occurred could not have been because of his spare part.

Bottomline is I face the prospect of spending more money just to get the car fixed!

Normally, I would be distressed,but surprisingly I found solace in an insight...what I will call my education in entrepreneurship. I've really been visualizing myself as a businessman and one of my "Aha's" was that if I was going to be one I better learn how to part with money (i.e.,lose it). I also ought to realize that each disappointment should be regarded as a learning experience.

Looking at my " car problem" experience under this light, I rationalized that,yes, I will be throwing away some money but at least I got to feel firsthand how it is to bounce back quickly from an upsetting situation.

POSTSCRIPT TO REFLECTION ON "TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE"

A thought just struck me while mulling over what I read from "Tuesdays With Morrie"...

Morrie somehow appreciated what it meant to live fully when he knew he was going to die. I got the insight that I need not wait for this situation to start living fully.

One of Morrie's favorite mantras was "Love each other or perish." That is what I resolve to do each day now...to make sure that I get to love or express my love to someone each day...before it becomes too late.

Corollary to this,I will try my darndest best not to think ill of my fellowmen (e.g the #@!!! who drive on the fast lane or cut me in traffic :-)) or learn to forgive in my heart those who do me wrong!

I think that's it...living happily means you've expressed your love to the people who matter...and you don't go around carrying the burden of guilt of not having forgiven someone who has wronged you!

Reflection on TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE

I've been reading Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie" and I just finished the part where Morrie Schwartz tells Mitch that one has to learn how to forgive oneself just as he must learn how to forgive others. Then he went on to say that he regretted not having written more books or that he should've done more, but he must now let it go because he was dying and would no longer be able to do these things.

It made me think of my own list of things I would want to do in my lifetime. I've crossed out several in this list but there are still many more I haven't done,e.g the songs I haven't written, the businesses I should've put up, the murals I wanted to paint,the trips with the family I dreamed of taking,the friends and loved ones to whom I still haven't said;"I Love You".

I realized that if I don't follow the Nike motto of just "doing it" on my deathbed I will have a whole litany of "sins" for which I will have to forgive myself.

Somehow, Morrie's lessons have pushed me to just face life with more abandon and more enjoyment. I will not wait for the perfect time to do something...because that perfect moment is now!