You have heard the expression…a bad day at golf is better than a good day at work. And it is absolutely true. Not that work is necessarily bad, it’s just golf is so enjoyable. That enjoyment is felt no stronger than when you hit a great shot. I remember playing a round at Del Lago Golf Course in Vail, Arizona. The #7 hole is a 172-yard par 3. I hit a 5-wood off the tee box, and it was a beauty. It flew straight at the hole, bounced a few times, and stopped two inches from the hole. It remains the closest I have ever come to getting a hole-in-one. I tapped it in, went to the next hole, a par four, and scored an eight. In a matter of a few minutes, I experienced the complete opposite ends of the scoring spectrum…a birdie and a quadruple bogey. Nothing changes though. A bad day of golf is better than a good day at work.
Why is that? Well, I guess it all boils down to gratitude, or thankfulness. It really is hard to complain about being outside on a beautiful day, surrounded my nature, and playing a great game. But even when you are not outside; even when you are stuck behind your desk at work; even though you might work in a cubicle along with hundreds of others; even when you have to work overtime…gratitude can still be yours. That’s because gratitude is not an emotion to be experienced, it is a lifestyle to be lived.
My parents have a little wooden carving hanging on their kitchen wall that says “attitude of gratitude”. That resonates so much, but only if you let it. I remember hearing a preacher once say that we should be thankful that we get to pay taxes. Right now, you think I have totally lost my mind, or the preacher who said it lost his mind. But think deeper about it. If you are paying taxes, you have a job, or some kind of retirement income, and at the very least, you are still alive. If you pay property taxes, you have a roof over your head and a car to drive.
This again is one of those things I learned from watching my dad. To be thankful for what life is offering.
Gratitude seems like such an easy concept to grasp, but alas, it eludes many of us. There is always something more to gain, someplace different to go, someone else to beat out for that promotion. We get so busy that we fail to recognize what we already have, the places we have already visited, and the co-workers we really don’t know. In the midst of our individual chaos, let me suggest something George Washington wrote in honor of the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789:
“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor….”
Continuing,
“That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.”
Dare I say Washington was on to something when he wrote of having a “great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed…”. He had only been the president for six months but looking back at what this young nation had traversed through just a few years earlier, Washington recognized the importance of having gratitude in the moment. When Washington sat down to write this proclamation, perhaps he had just read what the Apostle Paul had written to the church at Thessalonica, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” If true, this would have resonated with him more than we can imagine. From defeat to defeat, to that brutal winter at Valley Forge, to seeing close friends lose their lives on the battlefield, to being betrayed by a confidant and fellow general, Washington now says to be grateful. That is a lesson I know I need…and probably one we all need to live better every day.
Faith, Leadership, and History 