Places We Never Forget

In the midst of all of the traveling we do, so many places and faces, sights and food, really everything that we do can get sort of lost in the midst. We can journal and take pictures as we go. But there is no way to remember all that we do in our travels.

But, there are some places that stand out, that sort of stand above others. These are often places that we cannot help but remember because of some type of powerful experience we had there.

This was such a place for me:

This is the 18th teebox at Augusta National. Words cannot describe the experience I had attending the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia a couple of years ago. So I will not even try to put to words what the experience meant to me.

The above picture was taken on Wednesday of tournament week, one of the days that cameras are allowed onto the course. I also attended the Thursday round, the first round of tournament play, when cameras are not allowed.

I remember being at this exact same place on Thursday, taking it all in. Something about the place, its magic, its charm caused me to slow down. If you know me, you know that I am notorious for being in a hurry, whether working, traveling, or whatever it may be that I am doing. I had been taking that same approach to my time in Augusta. I was scurrying around, trying to pack as many things into the time I had, trying get to every nook and cranny of the course during my time there.

But for some reason, on that Thursday morning, looking down the fairway on hole number eighteen, I realized that I needed to stop, to smell the roses, if you will, and enjoy the moment. I truly look to that experience, to that particular moment, as a turning point. I think back about that moment and that day and my being forced to slow down and enjoy each moment for what it had to offer as I go about life now.

To truly enjoy the Masters, one must take it all in and be open to what each new moment and each new experience has to offer. Augusta National demands that you calm yourself while on its hallowed grounds. It's the same with life. When we travel, if we listen . . . if we listen to the places we go, if we listen to the people we encounter, if we listen to ourselves, we can learn all sorts of life-changing lessons.