INTERNET GRANDFATHER®

Golf Fest 2007

[+new pictures added to Scrapbook Pages 4 and 5- I'll explain them as these columns progress]

                                            For the past several years, a group of golf enthusiasts has traveled to beautiful spots around the world to play golf. I've called these trips golf fest. In previous years, we've been to Scotland, the Dominican Republic, Portugal, Iceland and France. (We didn't go anywhere in 2006 because of my trip to Bayreuth.) This year we went to the Philippines.

                                                        The Philippines is a country of thousands of islands, with some of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen. The people were lovely to us, the food and drink were delicious and the golf courses were well-designed and maintained. I found myself wishing that the country was closer so we could go more often. (The trip involved a 16-hour flight to Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and a 12-hour flight home.)

                                                        I'll describe the trip more specifically in future columns but in this overview I want to comment on the people. (I'm presenting my anecdotal observations, which can be dangerously inaccurate, but I believe the conclusions from my observations are correct.) The country is relatively poor, with a reported 40% of the population living below the poverty line. My observation is that there are very prosperous people and poor people, with little in between. In some cases, mansions were found next door to shanty towns. With it all, however, everyone I saw appeared well-fed and contented.

                                                        Even the people in the poorest circumstances we saw were cheerful and welcoming to us. We saw no beggars, no scowling resentment, no rail-thin children. I felt very comfortable wherever we went. What makes the low-income Filipinos so outwardly happy when the low-income people I see elsewhere, who are often better off than the poor Filipinos, are angry and resentful.

                                                        I believe it once again shows the role of expectations in happiness. If we can lower our expectations and accept what we have, we can be happy. If we constantly torture ourselves by wanting more than we have, whatever we have, we will be resentful and unhappy.

                                                        Try to be contented with what you have. You can be happy. 

2-12-07