A roaring wind blows through the tall trees. I stand on tee "one" waiting for the freeway to be free for my upcoming shot. One of the golfers ahead is still in my range, probably searching for his stray ball among the trees on the right. I wonder why on most golf courses in the world wind blows rightward? It’s not easy to play golf in the wind but a lighter one makes it fun.
Wind sometimes blows to make our hair dance and sometimes it shakes our feet. At times it flaps a flag and at others it rustles the leaves. Not all winds blow physically: some blow inside our minds. And those are the winds that shake us the most; winds of thought not only uproot us, they turn others turtle as well.
Ahmad Faraz, a great Urdu poet, complains about the pressure of air,
“اگرچہ زور ہواؤں نے ڈال رکھا ہے
مگر چراغ نے لو کو سنبھال رکھا ہے”
Although wind blows very hard,
The lamp is trying to keep the flame secure.
Not all lamps survive the wind, nor are all flames doused by the gust. Another wind is blowing around us today and it is the wind of change. We learn of new scientific inventions routinely. We are witnessing solar power replacing traditional sources like gasoline at godspeed. We are watching advances in space travel, and much more.
Every aspect of human life is being reformed yet the most dangerous and hazardous of the elements remain untouched.
Hatred, jealousy, and greed are a few factors that bring humanity to the verge of annihilation again and again. We have seen apartheid, genocides, battles, and wars engineered by these human emotions in service of the ego. Do we need to control and contain our hatred, jealousy, and greed? Did someone ever try to learn how to curb these feelings?
As we are so sensitive to the improvement of human bodies, don’t we need to restructure our thought process? Our school systems, and training courses require a considerable part of our life span. We make excellent doctors, teachers, engineers, artists, and poets. Our intellectual training is remarkable. On the other hand, our society pays so little attention to building character. We just brush it aside, saying it’s human nature. Nature can not be changed. It may be so but I am sure our modern society can come up with something.
I wish a wind would blow that would change our minds, our way of thinking, and spread laughter and love. It may blow away hatred and jealousy from our lives, with the winds of peace and equal rights spreading throughout the globe. A wind of gratitude and harmony among our neighborhoods and streets. Sometimes we just dream and become wishful. Someday these dreams may come true.
“When someone criticizes or disagrees with you, a small ant of hatred and antagonism is born in your heart. If you do not squash that ant at once, it might grow into a snake, or even a dragon.”
Rumi
By
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Author, Poet, Wanderer, photographer, Rebel.
Email: Golfaij@gmail.com
Website: Golfaij.com
YouTube: Morning with Golf