I am always happy to be able to golf! I rarely get the opportunity and am particularly inconsistent at it, but revel in the joy of walking around a lush green setting, whacking at a golf ball. It’s always a great feeling to be able to take the time out of my hectic schedule to enjoy this small snippet of pure relaxation and happiness. My close friend, Erik, however, was a different story altogether!

On any particular afternoon of blue skies and warm temperatures playing golf in Southern Minnesota, Erik could be heard screaming in anger, cursing out the ball, and kicking at a tree if he hit a bad shot. Now I loved this friend, but many of the blessings he had were well beyond his level of appreciation.

After most rounds of golf with this buddy, he was usually worked up, cranky and cursing about the shots he missed and forgetting about the nice shots he had hit. As amusing as his meltdowns were (and some were epically so), he didn’t have perspective.

We were both doing the same thing, with equal levels of ineptitude, but I felt invigorated and thankful while he felt crabby and would sulk. We had the same set of facts and variables but different perspectives. That illustrates how a small shift in attitude can make a big difference. My friend was an example of how a negative interpretation of life can make the best things bad.

For years, I wondered how this friend would have reacted to things much more tragic. I often thought that he would have imploded. He didn’t have perspective…until the day he was diagnosed with cancer.

Strangely enough, it was then that my friend began to see the sunsets. It really is strange how a curveball in life changed his perspectives and perceptions of reality and shifted his paradigm boldly.

We golfed a few more times after that and it was only then that he truly appreciated the quiet beauty of time well spent with a friend. I still miss my friend, Erik, but I’ll never lose the lessons I was reminded of on the day I got the news. Tomorrow’s never promised…live like you were dying.