Monkeys and golf balls…
Do you know this modern day parable?
Author Gregory Knox Jones tells the story of a golf course built by the British in India. There was a unique obstacle, though, that caused some problems.
For as golfers began to play, the monkeys in the surrounding jungles joined in the fun.
They would pick up the golf balls after the golfers hit them and then toss the balls in all directions.
The monkeys seemed to enjoy watching the humans go wild whenever their little white balls were disturbed. The exasperated golfers then brainstormed on how they could control the monkeys’ behavior.
The first strategy was to build high fences around the fairways and greens. But monkeys are excellent climbers so that solution didn’t work. Next they tried distracting the monkeys with bananas and other fruit, but all that did was bring in more monkeys who wanted dinner and some fun.
Finally, the golfers gave in to reality and developed a rather novel ground rule: Play the ball where the monkey drops it.
Is 2020 messing with your golf course? Too many uncontrollable monkeys? The pandemic has indeed changed our lives, bringing in monkey wrenches as well as monkeys! Sometimes we can get and apply the lessons we find in parables like this one!
Maybe what we all need to do is learn to pause and say, “Okay, this is where the monkeys dropped the ball. I’ll play from here as well as I’m able.”
Playing the ball where it is dropped gives new meaning to the changing events in our lives. If we can let go of our need to control and instead focus on how best to play the game (even if the ball is dropped into a difficult circumstance), we could concentrate our energy on what we can do instead of what we can’t.
One of the great teachings in spiritual life is: it doesn’t matter what is happening. What matters is how we respond. How we respond is what determines our happiness and peace of mind.
CHOOSE WISELY!
3 Comments
Excellent advice!
Those monkeys! They’re always up to monkey business.
A new take on the old “play it as it lies.” This, even though the ball is precisely where we hit it.