Living in the Moment

Last week, the night before I was to play golf the next morning, I woke up early thinking again about how golf is a metaphor for life. It occurred to me that the only shot you can do any thing about in golf is the one that you are taking at the moment. Your last shot is over and done with, your next one is a mystery because you don't even know where the ball will be. It remains for you to concentrate on grip, setup, direction, back-swing, down-swing and follow-through for the shot you are now making. In reality, you can only address each of these one at the time. I really like it better when I don't think about any of these, but, using the technique of John Daley, just "grip it and rip it".
Life is a lot like that. The only moment I can control is the one I'm in right now. The past is gone, even if only a few seconds ago. The future is yet to come, and once again, I have no idea what it holds. Right now, no, now, no, now...(you get the drift) I can concentrate on what I'm doing. Sure my past is a part of my present, and what I'm doing presently will impact my future; but the reality is, I only have control of NOW.
I really think this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he penned these words to the Philippian church, "But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus." What I am doing at the moment really is part of my pursuit of the goal I have in Christ. Now, if I can just remember to keep my head down and back-swing slow, I think I'll do better in golf...and in life.

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