Breathe in, breathe out. This is something you say to yourself over and over again. You have taken too many swings and shanked the sand numerous times by being frustrated. Telling yourself to breathe deeply, giving you the time to actually realize what to do properly. Closing your eyes to put your hands on the driver. Right hand above the left, raising the driver above your head and over your shoulders. In one swift movement, you hit the ball one hundred feet. You are able to see the distance it travels, witnessing a beautiful arc. After you witness it’s landing, you look around you. For what seems like for the first time in forever, you are the only person around for miles. All by yourself, you are able to fully take in what is around you. Allowing for you to focus on the simple task at hand.
Desert Golfing is a relatively simple game, and it has you performing the same task over and over again. This repetition serves a purpose, to refine your golfing skills. While this is a strange task, doing something over and over again can affect you in two ways. It can slowly make you lose your mind, or it can make you get better at one thing. In this instance, it’s the former. While the objective is very menial, it slowly becomes more thought inducing. “What is the right angle? How much power should I apply to this shot?” The mentality in the beginning is something completely different than the one in the end. This gradual shift is unexpected, and slowly shows you the sheer amount of thought running through your mind.
The art of repetition is one that takes a sheer amount of patience, and for those who have the patience. They will be able to reap the seeds they have sown. The sheer act of repeating something over and over again can burn someone out. Even with all of the patience in the world, there is a slight chance to ruin it for yourself. Like anything it waxes and wanes but the lows feel stronger than the highs, and ultimately you find the strength to push through. Showing a sheer amount of mental strength, and this is due to the near impossible goal. Because the goal of getting to the end is going to feel bittersweet, part of you enjoys the monotonous repetition; but all good things must come to an end, and your journey must come to an end as well.
While you are performing the same basic task over and over again, you begin to see something happening to the land in front of you. It slowly begins to shift, as if the sands of the desert were changing as you progress through it. The winds naturally change the landscape of the desert, and the dunes rise and lower. These swells bring a sense of tranquility, and you begin to take deeper breaths. Almost timing your breathes with the natural occurrence around you. While you are slowly beginning to set your swings, you slowly find yourself breathing in and out with the swells. That sense of repetition just lingers in the back of your mind.
The shifting landscape begins to conjure images of the Lompoul desert. Being home to these beautiful orange sand dunes, and they have been changing due to the local wind patterns. Venturing more and more into the desert, you slowly realize how desolate it is. There is nothing surrounding you for miles, and the horizon looks like it goes on forever. Looking at the horizon, you begin to slowly notice the curvature of the Earth. Being amazed at the sight in front of you, you sit down to just take it all in. Those deep breathes really mean a lot at this particular moment. This desolate nature is one which evokes this sense of quietness in you.
The landscape slowly begins to be something which provides companionship. It comes from a strange place. This environment which seems to be devoid of life, brings you to life. It is something which begins to conjure many philosophical questions. Mainly outlining how emptiness can bring joy to people. This contradiction is strange, but it gives you life in a strange place. The phrase opposites attract seems applicable here, even as you are sending golf balls into the dessert. As if it were giving you something which you have longed for.
Each hit goes off into the sunset but after each hit, you find yourself changing the way you swing, and this emptiness also brings a sense of challenge. By doing this act over and over again, you have seen the same results. Except, with no one else around you, you find yourself engrossed with a kind of challenge. The emptiness makes every hit sound louder than it actually is, and lets you see exactly where it goes. This is something which would be near impossible if you were hitting balls on a range or even on a rooftop. Keeping a track of the exactness of your actions only comes from how lonely you are. You don’t think about it in the moment, but the desert provides something in which you have been longing for. Silence. It is something which comes out of the blue.
Living in an urban area, and being connected to everything and everyone takes a lot out of you. However, by returning to basics and finding solitude out in this desolation provides something different. These connections are something which people yearn for, and they look to expand their mind. Instead of looking for answers in man-made products, why not look to nature. The desolation in front of you, provides such a stark contrast to what you are used to. The state of desolation can do a lot of different things to people. In some cases, it can make people crazy. But in this instance, by doing something over and over again you find yourself full of joy.
It is something which puts a smile on your face, and makes you enjoy the act and execution of the art of the swing. Slowly making your trek through the desert and following your heart has led you to this moment. You see something different for the first time, shorebreak is visible. This couldn’t be possible, the dessert is next to the ocean; but you were hundreds of miles inland. Slowly walking down to the beach, you put down your ball and driver. Your actions have lead you to this moment, filling you with a surreal feeling. Tears run down your face, because you don’t want it to end. The desert gave you something different, which was unexpected. Desolation became an unlikely friend, and it will slowly begins to fade out of your life. The journey comes to an end, but the thing which will stick with you is the skills gained. Knowing that repetitious actions can have strange innate power over you. Getting better with each passing minute, and how silence is something to be treasured instead of pushed away.
