Mark Conner Personal Development, Spirituality, Sports

Reflections on the Game of GOLF

Nice to hear that golf courses are open again here in Melbourne …

A few years ago, I was sitting in a nice cafe overlooking a beautiful golf course. I was enjoying a delicious cup of coffee, reflecting on my life, and writing in my journal. I have played a fair amount of golf over the years – some very enjoyable games and some very frustrating ones. Golf is definitely not my favourite sport.

Here’s my journal entry for that day (with apologies to golf lovers!):

The game of GOLF is a metaphor for the human predicament. 

We live in a beautiful world of hills, trees, bushes, grass, flowers, lakes, streams, and wildlife. Instead of simply enjoying it and meandering through its beauty in a peaceful manner, we have to set a goal. 

We put a hole in the ground, a flag in the air, and off we go. Swinging a golf club. Hitting a ball. Trying to get it into the hole. Quicker and faster than our competitors. Counting our shots.

Do we experience frustration or joy? It depends on how well we are DOING. Everything else is blocked out. We don’t see much. We are focused on the goal. After all, “Winners are grinners and losers are suckers”, they say.

Now let’s do it again … and again and again. 

Who turned life into such a competitive game? Who took the joy out of the simplicity of taking a walk in God’s beautiful world! 

It’s time to bail. Refuse to play the game! Throw away your clubs. Put on your walking shoes. Soak in the sun. Stop and look at the flowers. Listen to the birds. Delight in this gift called LIFE. It’s not a game to be endured. It’s a journey to be enjoyed.

[Journal – 29th August 2019]

Actually, we can learn a lot from sport about the game of life. Listen to my podcast for a recent message given at Bayside Church on ‘Winning at the Game of Life: Lessons from the World of Sport‘.

Mark Conner Family

My Scottish Roots

According to a DNA test I did with Ancestry a year or so back, I am 64% Scottish. I always knew I had Scottish relatives on my mother’s side (see my BLOG post on ‘Douglas‘) but I had no idea the Scottish roots were this strong. As a result, I’ve been doing some more research into my family tree and also reading about Scottish history. My favorite book right now is How the Scots Invented the Modern World.

Say hello to my great grandmother – Mary Grace Michael (above/right). She was born in 1849 in Ullapool, Scotland. Below is a picture of Ullapool today in winter. How beautiful it looks. I hope to visit there one day.

Mary immigrated to Australia from Scotland with her family back in 1852 – a long, grueling 97-day trip on the ship Wanata. She was only 3 years of age. Sadly, she lost her younger sister, Janet, one of 33 children and 6 adult deaths, during the voyage, due to typhus fever. The ship was in quarantine for 2 weeks anchored off St. Kilda.

Mary’s father, William Michael (left), was a shepherd who lived and worked in the Scottish Highlands, just outside of Ullapool, before immigrating to Australia. I wonder if he and his family were affected by the Highland Clearances that took place from 1750 – 1860.

At age 18, Mary married my great grandfather, James Douglas. Together they raised 12 children and ran a farm in Woodstock, west of Bendigo. Tragically, James died suddenly of blood poisoning at age 59, leaving Mary to raise their 6 sons and 6 daughters and run the farm. She lived till age 71. 

I would’ve loved to have sat down with Mary and hear more of her story. Nevertheless, her life inspires me today.

I wonder what stories of courage and resilience are in your family heritage that you can draw strength from today?

Mark Conner Family

The Douglas Family

Lockdown is a good time to catch up on a bit of family history …

Say hello to my great-grandfather and my great-granduncle, James and John Douglas.

Looking like something out of Peaky Blinders, I can still see some family resemblances 🙂

Both were born in County Down, east of Belfast in Northern Ireland (an area settled by the Scotts in the 1620s). In their early 20s, back in 1864, they sailed on the “Great Britain” from Liverpool to Melbourne (a 90-day trip).

This was the time of the Victorian gold rush. They both ended up buying land west of Bendigo to farm on. That’s where my mum, Joyce Douglas, was born.

I would have loved to have sat down and had a good yarn with James and John. Nevertheless, you’ve got to admire their courage. They inspire me.

“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd.

NEXT: My Scottish Roots.

Mark Conner Current Issues, Personal Development

The Genius of ‘Low Power Mode’

Whoever thought of ‘Low Power Mode’ is a genius. When this option pops up on my phone, I always hit ‘Continue’, never ‘Cancel’. It’s super helpful.

Phone battery life is a precious resource. If you don’t manage it carefully, you might find yourself unable to make calls or take photos … just when you really need to. And once your phone battery has died, your phone is useless … until you can find a charging point.

To extend your phone’s battery capacity, many phones have a special battery-saving mode that helps your smartphone last a little longer. It’s often referred to as ‘Low Power Mode’ and it reduces the amount of power that your phone uses when the battery gets low. When Low Power Mode is ON, your phone will last longer before you need to charge it, but some features might take longer to update or complete. Low Power Mode reduces screen brightness (a big battery drain!) and shortens the time your phone waits before going to sleep. It also does less regular checks and refreshes of background tasks like checking for incoming emails or updated news stories, for example.

I was in a training event this last week via ZOOM and one of the participants mentioned ‘Low Power Mode’ as a good metaphor for this time of pandemic lockdown. How helpful is that. I knew I had to give this concept some more thought and reflection.

These are stressful times and it’s easy to find ourselves running on empty or depleted in our energy. Our capacity has taken a hit and we find ourselves unable to keep going at the pace we have become accustomed to or produce the outcomes we have always expected of ourselves.

Choosing to only focus on the most important aspects of our lives and putting everything else on hold until our energy reserves have been built up again sure makes a lot of sense. After all, conserving our energy a little bit now is a much better short-term strategy than having to shut down completely.

Here are a few questions to reflect on about entering ‘Low Power Mode’:

  1. Who are the important people in my world who need to know that I am low on energy at the moment? This takes courage but it helps people adjust their expectations and provide support to you.
  2. How could I choose more realistic expectations of myself?
  3. Do I need to affirm the belief that it’s ‘okay’ to be in Low Power Mode? After all, it is NOT a sign of weakness, failure, or inadequacy.
  4. Are there ways I can slow down the pace of my day, maybe by scheduling fewer appointments and allowing adequate gaps of time between egnagements?
  5. Could I postpone any tasks or projects that are not critical right now?
  6. Could I re-negotiate any agreements or commitments that would reduce any pressure I currently feel?
  7. What are the few things that are vital for my energy use right now?
  8. Who are some ‘safe people’ I could have a meaningful conversation about how I am feeling right now?
  9. What fun activities do I enjoy that I could do more of this week? All work and no play take their toll.

Low Power Mode is a temporary setting but it is far better than going completely ‘off the grid’ indefinitely. Use it to your advantage. Choose the genius of Low Power Mode.