Miniature Golf

It may be embarrassing to admit this, but growing up I always enjoyed playing miniature golf. Even as an adult, it was fun to take my daughter or go with friends to try our hand at seeing how easily we could putt the ball past the windmill or play the angles to come as close to a hole-in-one as possible. Plus, miniature golf was never all that expensive. In its hey day, according to Wikipedia, it is estimated there were over 25,000 miniature golf courses throughout the United States. That's an average of about 500 per individual state. Is there any one who has not played at least one round of miniature golf in their life? Miniature golf has always struck me as being similar to communication. Obstacles. Turns. Angles. Traps. Overshooting the hole. Being overly cautious. All these hurdles were designed to make the golf more fun, but also more difficult. One finds many of the same challenges in attempting to connect with others. In the context of communication, they are not always so much fun. In many ways, each of us is our own miniature golf course. How many times, for example, has a friend or acquaintence attempted to connect with us only to be rejected by our own windmill of emotion? How many traps do we set for others to keep them from getting too close? Here's a thought: one way to be better at communicating is to treat others as we would a miniature golf course. With the right mindset, it can be a fun experience. Challenging, too, but in a less stressful way. Miniature is more enjoyable when played with others. People approach it with the idea of having a positive experience. My thinking here is communicating can be more effective if we view others as having their own set of obstacles that we must figure out how best to work through or around. At the same time, they have the same challenge with us. And just as it is in miniature golf, everyone finishes together with smiles and in anticipation of what is ahead.