We just stopped playing immediately, incase we hit the goose by an accident. It will not survive a golf ball. I asked my husband to tell the staff so they can get the goose fly out of the course. What happened in-between made my heart cry.
People were taking shots at the goose. What was most heartbreaking for me was the couple next to me who kept playing and having a good laugh. The mother kept playing her erratic shots and seemed amused that she did not hit the goose. From the number of golf balls flying out, I realised that most people had stopped playing but this family did not. The parents kept playing and laughing and the children joined along.
Finally the ball picking trucks got the goose out of the way. Thank goodness!
What I realised in the middle of all these is that we, humans, can be pretty darn stupid and mean. I thought of the couple next us with the kids. What if their kids got on the course by accident. Will they continue to play their shots or will they run to save them. How would they have felt if others had kept hitting shots on to the course? Would they have laughed over it? Or would they have feared over the safety of their children and angered towards those who continued to play? They would have sued the players and the golf place for being irresponsible and lacking of safety.
But a goose, seemed a natural target practice. Why? Because it wasn't a human? Or it wasn't your child? I wondered.
It's unfathomable how quickly people forget things like compassion, kindness and empathy. I have no doubt that those parents would be teaching their children to show respect, kindness and understanding of others feelings etc but at that moment, it did not apply. It had no transference power. The sad part is, this is not the first time I have seen this kind of behaviour. For some reasons, we are better at talking and teaching others than making sure that we have learnt the lessons and that we are able walk the talk.
I once met a woman who had a two year old child. She was talking about her friend who had opted to give her and her child a ride. The friend had a dog. When they were about to get in, the friend had said that the child and the dog can sit at the back. This woman was appalled. She said she would not feel safe with the dog and the child in the back seat. What made this story telling interesting was what she said after. She said, the danger of a dog with a child in the back seat would not have ever crossed her mind if she did not have a child. She said because it was her child, she realised that it might not be the best way to travel! So basically if it were someone else's child, she would not have had an issue?! Isn't that interesting. As long as you have a lot to lose it's got to change and its not normal, but when the loss is for someone else, it makes no mark on you?!
I'm astounded by lack of empathy in humans who constantly seek it, fight for it...I mean why do we have a thing called 'human rights'. But for some reasons all the rights apply only to me and those around me. For others, unless I have no direct benefit from it, it does not matter. How do we get off thinking like this?
If we are this selfish, then it's stupid to ask the rest of the world to be unselfish. It just not work that way. If I need kindness, I need to be kind first of all. In the absence of it, no matter how much I cry over the unkindness of others, its not going to change much. Why? Because I have not changed. It's like someone pointing a gun. As long as you are pointing a gun, no one dare come near you let alone be nice to you. Why? Because the other person is thinking this guy is going to shoot me and I'd better get out of the way. It's the same with emotions.
Our small minds are unable to compute the power of emotions. Positive and negative. Just because an emotion has no physical shape and size does not mean that it does not carry weight. Its actually far more dangerous than a physical object. You can at least see it but not an emotion. So the harm it can do, is that much deeper.
When we carry emotions they are like clothes that we put on. It carries a message. If you are wearing smelly and dirty cloths, you give out the impression that you maybe poor, unhygienic and simply dirty. Will people approach you and talk to you and ask to have a drink? No! They will simply move out of your merry way. Now you might wonder why people are not being nice to you and not talking to you. You might even get angry...but the point is that you are smelly and dirty and people are responding to that. Unfortunately you don't know this. Having and carrying a negative emotion is like that. Its smelly and dirty and people don't want to have to do anything with it. Only you are left wondering why and angry!
It's the opposite to someone who is dressed up well and smelly good. People won't walk away from you. They will be pleased to see you. If you go towards them and talk they may even talk. It's like having positive emotions. People are attracted to positive emotions.
So I hope if you are reading this, it would help you see that the work has to be done by you and you alone. If you want the world to be different, you need to start being different. As Gandhi said, Be the change you want to see in the world". I agree with him completely. Not because he is Mahatma Gandhi but because I know that what he said is very true.
I hope people learn these lessons sooner than later. We cannot teach our children if we cannot put in to practice what we know. It's what we do that makes a difference not how good we are at teaching it. People and especially children watch the adults. We imitate those around us. If what we see around us is, people using a goose as a target practice, then message do we send? Its not in what we say but in how and what we do when we are faced with a situation that shows who we are. Its sad to see that such qualities are only payed lip service these days.
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