I'm not sure if you play golf, or are familiar with the mechanics of a golf swing, but those that play the sport know the bodily harmony required for a swing to 'be in the flow'. There is so very much going on in what would appear to be a simple back and forth motion of the hands and hips to make a true connection with the ball. What's more 'joyfully' frustrating in this sport, is being able to continually reproduce this precise motion over and over again, as to put it all together, and keep it together. This is where most golfers lose their..... marbles, wondering why it works sometimes, and other times.....blah, lol.
So starts my recent round of golf (and I only play a few times a year so I can't expect miracles out there
). Beings it was late November, I started the round with a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt, to keep warm. I've never really played this time of year, so being half bundled up was a new experience. The first six holes were a mixed bag of "what the heck man", with my drives going left, then going right, and occasional sky balls launching straight up in the air. Needless to say, I was far from consistent, and my swing felt far from harmony.What I did notice was that my short game seemed unaffected (chips and puts that require less motion), but anything that required deeper harmony and team work amongst muscles and true flow.....was just off. Six holes this continued until an inspiration came to me (my inspirations 'feel' like voices in my mind, but they don't come with a different tone, they are truly, 'felt'), "take off what is restricting you, and harmony will be returned". It was a deep 'ah ha' moment, and sure enough, I took off my restrictions (sweat shirt) and wala, harmony returned to my game.
In that moment I thanked God, and the Angels, for the lesson, for truly much more is happening in our lives than the Celestial efforts to improve our golf scores, lol. We all are deeply praying for a release from our scars of past, we all are praying to be in the flow of God's Harmony, through the blessed inflowing of His Love, and we all have been born, raised, and acclimated to a world built upon the human condition, which place many layers of shadows on Truth. Still, the restrictions are merely imposed by us, placed there by us, and can be just as easily removed, by our longing efforts and prayers. We put the shirt on, and with God's help and guidance, we can take the shirt off. The shirt, for me, is fear and doubt. Fear that this world will reject what we have to share (and they will, but it's not something to fear for God is with us through it all), and doubt, doubt that we will be strong enough to swim upstream when it seems like a Tsunami is coming straight for us.
In this same story, I also took notice that my short game was unaffected by my restrictions. There is much less movement and flow in a golfers chip and put game, the swing is much closer to the body, and the effort is merely a portion of that required to Drive the ball off the tee. So these restrictions we hold don't affect us nearly as much when we are playing a smaller game, using smaller faculties. But if we seek to be in the light of a much larger picture, much more harmony must come into play if we are to be successful, and that harmony is achievable by releasing that which holds us back.
I see both of these restrictions in me as sleeves of the shirt, and probably the best way for us to take a step towards the light is to try and remove them, one at a time. While I fully admit that I want to say one single prayer to God for His Love to wipe my slate clean, so I can walk and talk with the Love of His Word in my soul, I'm fondly reminded that healing does take time, and to rush the process usually results in a set back. Patience is a virtue, and we all have the child like desire to 'have it all now', but work is a flow, and steps are part of the journey. So the lesson I took from it is that restrictions can easily come off, if we recognize that which is restricting us, and seek the help from God who has the Loving Power to release them, and from those Celestial Angel friends who have shed similar layers once themselves.
This story was the inspiration for my opening prayer request to the group this past Saturday. Hope it doesn't come off as a golf story, lol!
Love you all so much, and my prayers for many blessings of release!
! I just heard a story on the radio this morning saying the most successful people report failing the most. They each attributed their success to staying the course, and not giving up after each fall. This sounds right to me. Putting ourselves out there will certainly lead to varying amounts of rejection, and set backs at times, but as you said, it makes us stronger!