Carruthers was visiting a small English town to do business. As his first appointment was not until twelve noon he decided to play a round of golf early in the morning. The golf course was right on the edge of town, and he was first off. He sliced his first ball, and it went over the hedge that ran parallel to the first fairway. He did not bother to go and look for it; he played another ball which went straight down the middle.
On returning to the club house at the end of the game the club professional approached him saying, “Excuse me, sir, were you by any chance the first off this morning?”
“Yes, I was,” replied the businessman.
“And did you slice your first ball over the hedge to the right?”
“Yes, I did, as a matter of fact, old man,” replied the businessman.
“Well,” said the professional, “that hedge runs parallel to a very busy street, and your ball landed on the head of a cyclist. The cyclist swerved into the middle of the road, and in order to miss the cyclist a car swerved in front of a bus; and in order to miss the car, shopfront of a jeweler’s. The shop collapsed, and in the process a lot of very valuable jewelry has disappeared.”
“Oh, my God!” cried the businessman, shaking at the knees. “What shall I do?” “Oh, no problem, old man,” said the professional. “Just make sure that you keep your right hand a little further round the handle, and everything will be fine.”
That’s how the professional, the expert, the knowledgeable person, works. He knows everything about the meaningless, the insignificant; he goes into insignificant details and he goes on missing the central thing. I am not against the pundits and the learned people, I am simply compassionate towards them.
Osho
Be Still And Know
