Do Overs...

Today as I was playing golf with my pals and my son, like usual I hit an errant ball off to the right, I quickly pulled another ball from my pocket and declared, "Mulligan!" There are several historical versions of the story behind hitting a "Mulligan" - but my point here is not to wax on in history, its to take this musing one step further with something we did as kids, called a "Do Over". When I was growing up, we played alot of sports in the street, down at the grade school near my home, just about everywhere. Pick up games, grab your pals, go play ball. Football, Basketball, Baseball. We'd drop our books on our front lawn after getting off the bus from school, grab our gear, and head for a game somewhere. Of course we needed all the guys to be players, so we had no extras who would/could referee our sandlot games. Invariably, we would have fouls, disagreements, someone was upset about some infraction committed, so instead of arguing endlessly, we would simply call a "Do Over" - like a "Mulligan" and replay the down, the pitch, the shot, whatever. However the "Do Over" turned out, was how it was, AND further how it was meant to be, because we also had this Karma thing that if the "Do Over" resulted in the game leaning one way or another, then whatever caused the disagreement to begin with was sort of weighted in terms of "who was right afterall" by how the "Do Over" turned out. You get the idea. So, it dawns on me regularly, that in life we all need more "Do Overs". Times to walk away, or start fresh. Keep your team. Or find a new game. No harm. No foul. We just "Do It Over". I wonder if we could all make life more simple with such a simple way to settle things that trouble us? Boz Skaggs has a song called "Come on Home" and in that song the lyrics are in essence, "nobodys right, nobodys wrong, lets call it a draw..." Not a bad way to close doors, move on, renew, or start fresh with a "Do Over" if you ask me. Word to the wise though... If you want to take a "Mulligan", then you better be ready to give a "Mulligan" too. You can't have it both ways. Taking and no giving. The beatles said it best, "and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make..." So, go ahead, call a "Do Over" now and then. See if it doesn't make your life alittle easier, happier, more peaceful.