Crown Green Bowling is such a gentle game!

The sun shines, the birds sing, the park is peaceful and the green is…..green! Aaah! Relax.

People amble over to the other side, to see the slow progress of the weighted ball homing in on the white. A gentle tap. The ball practically whispers, “Excuse me please,” as it brushes past another to land the closest to the white; a gentlemanly winner. You can almost hear the ousted ball reply, “Jolly good show!”

Nods and beams from all players. The defeated accept this fact with grace.

It is a game – but not the game of life.

Having been made redundant from my school closing, you would imagine I would have time to amble, time to potter, time to hear the birds sing. (Perhaps too much time!)

Never!

I find I am in a violent, competitive, highly strung game of Bowls!

Whirr, whirr! The ball fires swiftly with intention, on a mission to be first. The white had better watch out! No sooner has it landed, then smack! A second bowl smashes and sends it scarpering, usurping first place … then more balls rush in , all screaming “Me, me, me!” Each one requires my urgent attention. No sooner do I begin to attend to one then another ball appears out of nowhere and smashes the first away. It has reached the first place of “Most urgent!” on my Urgent list!

I would not have believed it possible – to lose a job then suddenly be ridiculously busy with many “have to do it now” moments.

Goals, lists and priorities have lined up in my life. They are urgent. They are necessary – but I intend to make sure they do not smash out the balls of Passion and Purpose. Nothing can be more urgent than that! Passion and Purpose may call gently amidst the loud screams of others, but in my mind they deserve first place. While I deal with the ‘urgents’ I refuse to relegate these to the edge of my life. To place these balls on the edge of the green would be to re-name them Longing and Regret.

At least there is one discovery I am sure of –

Bowls is just not my game!