Behind the wheel again. Time to hit the road, just as the UK is on the verge of another lockdown. Well at least parts of it, if people don't get their act together.
But it's become less fun, if driving in London could be considered fun to begin with. That said, it is nicer to experience other motorists giving way and allowing you to turn out from side roads even when they don't have to. And while it can be frustrating initially to drive at 20 mph (yes you read that right, it's not a typo - and it was 30 mph previously), after a while I do enjoy the slower pace as it is less stressful. Especially on the narrow streets at night, the slow speed feels much safer. Of course you get some who are impatient, and at the earliest opportunity they will overtake you and zoom off. But they never tailgate you and do not sound their horn so you don't feel pressured to speed up.
The less fun part is I think due to two reasons. There seems to be a lot of road work everywhere. Maybe they are trying to get the economy going by starting projects. So traffic had become even slower. Secondly, my impression is drivers are more impatient. They used to always stop at zebra crossings - but I've seen more instances where they don't. I do believe it's a sign of the strain that society is under . This pandemic is causing a lot of pain and anxiety to people. That manifests itself in many small and seemingly insignificant factors. Drivers become more impatient, more irritable and less focused because their minds are on other things.
Another less welcome change is the change in congestion charges and timing. It is now 15 pounds a day! Thankfully I have a 90% discount because I live within the congestion zone - though you could argue that it is a disadvantage since I can't avoid it whereas those who are not within, can avoid the charge if they don't enter the zone. Also the charges used to kick in only from 7 am to 6 pm (or was it 8pm?) on weekdays. Now it is 7 am to 10 pm every day! They have explained the government needs to raise money given the pandemic.
A car is a luxury in many ways, but it provides a great convenience. Shopping for groceries, especially when lugging a lot of stuff is less painful. It also means I can explore farther afield, and golf becomes a more attractive option:)
I played at Wentworth on Sunday with Sharon and John. They are a lovely couple - she's Singaporean and he's British (he lived in Singapore for 17 years and loved it). They sailed a lot in Singapore, and decided to take up a different sport they could play together when moving to London (they've been back 11 years now). They chose golf and decided to buy a home right on the estate where the club is located (it's huge - there are more than 1000 homes on it). Wentworth is famous as it is the home of the BMW Championship. There are 3 courses, Edinburgh, East and West (where the tournament is played - it is tough) and it is beautiful.
It was a great day out, and I would have enjoyed it even if I had played terribly. I didn't suck and much of it is due to the fact that something clicked in my head about my game. Golf is as much a mental game as it is about physical coordination - it isn't really about strength (unless you are a pro). A comment from Sharon's friend who played with us the last time suddenly made sense to me. She said something to the effect that for a person who seemed so calm or easy-going, I seemed to play in a bit of a rush.
I wasn't as focused as I should be - partly because I was usually enjoying the beauty of creation, and didn't take the game too seriously. But truth be told, I am too competitive to be content with that, and if anything, golf is a competition with the most difficult competitor you can find - yourself. And so when I do try to focus, I end up trying too hard. I rush my swing, while not being totally in control (aka I wasn't focused, or at least not on the right thing). The outcome is usually ugly.
The key is the concept of flow - this was a hot topic a few years ago. Can't recall the details (I read a book or two about it) but the essence of it is that you need focus, but at the same time you should not overdo it to the extent that you tense up... and lose focus on what's important. The best description I have come across is "effortless concentration". It's also been called "being in the zone". Some people have described it as seeing things in slow motion.
So my moment of epiphany was understanding what I needed to focus on - when we have a task at hand, there are many possible points of focus. Many are not crucial, and may even be distractions. My previous focus was wedded to the idea of an easy effortless swing (and I liked golfers that had such a swing), and how it looked to me. But I had missed the point - what it looks like, isn't the same as what needs to be done to make it look that way. You need control, to make it look easy.
A valuable lesson and insight for me, even as I am writing this. Reflection is really important and we don't spend enough time on it.
There are many things in life we need to attend to and some are routine, which we do without much thought, and that's ok too because even if we get it wrong, it's not disastrous. It's like the ideas in that book Thinking Fast and Slow. If we had to focus so hard on every single thing we do, life would be unbearable. The issue is figuring out what deserves that kind of attention - and we often do it subconsciously. We naturally focus when we are doing things we enjoy. And to enjoy those things even more, we need to learn to focus consciously, on what's important.
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