GROW Away!

Exhaustion.  Pure and simple.  I was so tired at work that as I finished mowing one of the greens, I raised the rollers, drove off onto the collar, and proceeded to drop the rollers again.  Have you ever seen what happens when a greens mower is used on grass that isn’t supposed to be mowed with a greens mower?  It’s like having the extension on a set of hair clippers fall off right before you touch the clippers to someones head.

Take a look:

And then, someone who was completely spacing out is immediately flustered and in a panic, so they can’t find the up lever for the rollers right away and travel about two feet.  Nice, huh?  🙂  The best thing about working at a golf course and being a little bit of a space case from time to time?  The mistakes you make will be gone within a week.  My dad says it best:

“Your mistakes will grow away.”

I believe that this philosophy is not only true on a golf course, but in life, as well.

Every single person on earth makes mistakes.

The unfortunate people choose to blame others, not take responsibility, and don’t learn from their mistakes.  The wise people choose to learn from their mistakes, which enables them to grow emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I like to believe that I am one of the fortunate people who have chosen to learn from their mistakes and grow in the process.  I may not be happy with the mistakes I make, but I welcome them as part of the process of living, learning, and growing.  My mistakes will grow away because by learning from them I am growing into a better person.

Another perspective is that one single mistake does not reflect the person as a whole being.  In order to understand the choices a person makes you must be walking in their shoes, with their circumstances, and with their burdens.  Look at the one mistake and you may condemn them unnecessarily; however, look at the whole person instead of the mistake and you see the beautiful person they are.

Just like a golf course.

If you look at the one mistake that scalped the collar of a green, all you see is the mistake.

Take a giant step back and look at the golf course as a whole, and you see beautiful, lush greens and fairways.  You see the rugged out-of-bounds and hazards.  With that giant step back, you see the beautiful ponds and water hazards.

Take the time to take a step back – in life, in dealing with others, and when judging yourself.   I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you see and find, and, more importantly, what you no longer see.