I started golfing at age 49. It was on my list of “things to do before I turn 50” and I made it in just under the wire. I signed up for golf lessons under the auspices of a community college physical education class. For four weeks we learned the fundamentals: putting, chipping, driving and teeing off. Then on week number five we put it all together to play a full round.
I wasn’t the best golfer in the class, but I wasn’t the worst, either. I had a lot of fun. Enough fun that I continue to enjoy golfing today, several years later. There’s nothing like making a good drive or a lucky putt to raise your energy level, and hence your overall “vibration” (see blog entry January 31).
But there’s nothing quite like getting a “par.” A par is when you get the ball into the cup in the exact number of strokes the scorecard says it should take to get you there. In my world, it’s a true cause for celebration, for unabashedly jumping up and down, for abandoning all social reservation and doing the self-styled “par dance.”
My particular par dance involves pointing my index fingers toward the sky, alternating one arm up and then the other, and wiggling around in a complete circle while grinning like a Cheshire cat. For me, it’s proclaiming “happy, happy, joy, joy” to the entire universe. “Whoopeee! I did it! I’m a rock star! Yabba-dabba-doo!”
Most of my golfing companions understand my sentiments completely. My best buddies join right in, not only tolerating my public display, but initiating it themselves when they get their own pars. I think they secretly look forward to letting their hair down and forgetting to be self-conscious for a few minutes. “Par dancing” makes you feel good all over, and a joy is doubled when it’s shared.
In life, I’m advocating we do more par dances. We need to celebrate ALL our successes with an abundance of gratitude and thanksgiving. It feels good to feel good. Why confine it to the golf course? Spread the word: Dance like no one’s watching!