Why I want Tiger Woods to play well...

I love to watch golf on TV.  I don't know why.  I've never played golf a day in my life.  I drove around in a golf cart following my husband one day (his first and only game), but I don't think that counts.  Anyway, whenever golf is on TV, I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame.  So it should come as no surprised that I was a little disappointed when our TV's got packed up before the coverage of this year's US Open was broadcast.

No worries... technology is my friend.  I found that I could log on to www.usopen.com and not only find out how the players were doing, but could actually watch live coverage right there on my laptop screen.  And there they were.... Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson playing in the same threesome with this year's Masters champion Bubba Watson.  Three of the most dynamic and celebrated golfers competing against the field, each other and themselves.  Tiger had a good day... Phil and Bubba, not so much.  And on Friday, Tiger continued to play well and ended the day tied for first place.

Play has started today, on Saturday, and Tiger is struggling a bit.  And that makes me sad.  Because I want Tiger to play well, to come back and win... this tournament and many more, because like it or not, he is one of the most amazing players the sport of golf has ever seen.

Now that's not to say that he hasn't had his share of trouble.  His personal and professional troubles are well documented and much debated, so we won't go into them here.  Many people think that he may never get his mojo back... that he's washed up at 36, unable to get back to his previous, glorious form.  But others, like me, want him to do well... to get his swing back and his act together.  And not just because he's Tiger Woods, but because everyone has the potential to really mess up their lives.

Sometimes it's just dumb luck that keeps our acts together.  Sometimes we are able to talk our way out of the messes we make.  Sometimes we learn from our mistakes.  And sometimes we don't.  And so my reason for wanting Tiger to play well is simple....

I want to believe that our mistakes and failures do not define us.  I want to believe that forgiveness is possible.  I want to believe that we can come back and be even better than we were before.  I want to believe that life doesn't end because we do things that are really stupid and extraordinarily destructive.  I want to believe that we can learn lessons from our tragedies, and that we can come back ready to begin again.

Sociologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross is best known for her work on death and dying.  But she also studied how people deal with adversity, believing that we learn the best lessons about ourselves and others through our challenges, not from our successes.

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen. ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

I want to be that kind of beautiful person.

I don't know how Tiger's tournament will end.  Or his season, or his career.  Only time will tell.  But I do know that he is now more like the rest of us... a flawed human being with incredible talent, just living life one day at a time and trying to make it to the other side.  Let's hope we all learn our lessons along the way.

Peace, Deb

When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.  ~ John F. Kennedy, address, 12 April 1959

Adversity is the first path to truth.  ~ Lord Byron