“To thine own self be true "- Hamlet, William
Shakespeare
BILL MOYERS:
Do you ever have the sense of... being helped by hidden hands?
JOSEPH
CAMPBELL: All the time. It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has
grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that
if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been
there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living
is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who
are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your
bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were
going to be.
- Power of the Myth, Joseph Campbell
The roving two sailors from the Gdansk Yacht and Golf Club debated once
about the value of smacking the snot out of a solid dimpled ball around some
manicured field.
“Golf is golf” the king’s ancestor protested “and there is
nothing more to it. No soul is more pure or brain is more over-flowing with
wisdom as a result of recording what some green-jacketed self –righteous
exclusive club member decided to call a ‘birdie’ or ‘eagle.’ “
He continued “
even the most skilled tiger who burst from his cage earlier than most has
demonstrated that there isn’t necessarily a relationship between moral
character and collecting trophies and big checks.”
“But the gods must have blessed some of the players more
than most” the second one stated.
The first one added “but then maybe some players may have
sold their souls to the wrong god or fallen angel in order to rise to the
mountain top of public adulation. Their abundant winnings don’t open heaven’s
gates any faster or wider. Though a select few have used their rewards for a
greater good. ”
“That all may be true “ paused the second one “ but it’s a
game that is so difficult to master isn’t it?”
The first one added “but I have heard that it is a game…. ‘A
game that can’t be won only played! God is happiest when his children are at
play’ ”
“But you don’t even play by the rules” rebuked the now angry
sailor.
“ I play by paradise rules …”
“What the heck does that supposed to mean?”
“ It’s about being authentic to yourself…. sometimes I get
lost in the competition of life. I ought to win this. I ought to achieve that.
I read that we lose our authenticity in all the ought to’s and should of’s . I just desire any opportunity where I
can be completely who I am …no more no less. Besides I can’t get bogged down beating
myself up by playing by the rules made up for a game by somebody else.”
“So what’s the point in playing the game then?”
“Well, to be honest, it is a great excuse to get outside
with nature and to be present to all the living grace that surrounds us.”
“Then go for a hike in the woods or on a beach.”
“ I could do that, there is a time for stroll in the forest
and contemplative walks along the shoreline. …But I enjoy your company, the
laughs and cigars and you like to play this game so that’s where I want to be. Yet,
I must admit that every once in a while everything seems to click and falls
into place, especially when I am completely relaxed and let go and my swing
suddenly lifts the ball into the most beautiful arching flight out of nowhere and
soars to precisely the point I had envisioned. I can just see God smiling too. “
“So you play golf to keep God smiling?”
“Well sometimes I get that same feeling when I try to write
something original in a journal, play a song on my guitar or catch the wind
with a sail on a boat. I just try to be present, get away from the distractions,
feel the peace and let it take me to a place where I am my self and precisely
who I am supposed to be.”
“That’s all nice but what did you get on the last hole? I
need to write it down in the card you know.”
“It doesn’t really matter. Does it?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
“And so I play.
I play on.
I play for the moments yet to come...
... looking for my place in the field.”
- The Legend of Bagger
Vance, ( Hardy Greaves),the Movie
Feel the Flow
Enjoy Yourself
amdg
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