Friday, August 30, 2019

Bull's Eye

To mutter, even to oneself, that we live in a strange time defines being present.

What do we have if we can't hope, or dream, or even dream about hope?

What exactly do we want?

Exactly.

Nothing gets to the point quicker than when one thinks or behaves with clarity. Exactly is an adverb. But it is an adverb pumped up, an adverb as close to a verb as a word might be that is nonetheless saddled with the bulky baggage of an LY.

One needs to be wary of adverbs. And adjectives. The world of motion thrives with nouns and verbs as its fuel. Adverbs and adjectives get in the way of that flow. Avoid them.

Forget the passive, embrace the aggressive.

To do. Or not.

Up to you.

There's an ancient story about Burt Reynolds when he was working in the TV series GUNSMOKE. Spencer Tracy, whom Reynolds idolized (for great reason) happened to be working on a film on a nearby set. Day after day, when he could get away from his own job, Reynolds went to Tracy's realm to watch the man work. Tracy caught wind of this, and one day on set, they met.

As the legend goes, Tracy asked, "What is it that you want to do in Hollywood?"

Reynolds said, "Act."

Tracy replied, "Don't let them catch you at it."

In regard to Tracy in performance, when he listened, he LISTENED. Watch him in any of his films, notably INHERIT THE WIND, where in one courtroom scene with his back to the camera, as dialogue occurred, he used his left shoulder to register receipt. Stunning.

The process of making a film, with its constant starts, restarts, and short flurries of performance has a partner in focus with golf, particularly golf at the highest level, which requires sporadic attention, but when that moment comes, it requires TOTAL COMMITMENT.

To that end, one of the great sages of golf wisdom and practice — or any hand-eye endeavor that demands finite repetition that must be enhanced with relaxation — Harvey Penick stands tall.

Penick began his golf career as a caddie, then a player, before turning to his life's work— teaching. During his lengthy tenure at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas  (Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite were among his throng of pupils), Penick kept detailed notes of little nuggets, clues, and tips in a red notebook. Eventually, someone had the brilliant idea of turning Harvey's notebook into a published text. And not shockingly, the first Penick work is titled HARVEY PENICK'S LITTLE RED BOOK.

It is one of those books that dissects a form so clearly and simply that its many lessons can be applied to other endeavors, such as, for instance, acting.

To my mind HARVEY PENICK'S LITTLE RED BOOK is the marketing title. The content title, however, occurs on page 45, with the nugget heading: TAKE DEAD AIM.

Consider this excerpt:

When my student Betsy Rawls was in a playoff for the U.S. Open Women's Championship, I sent her a one-sentence telegram.

It said, "Take dead aim."

Betsy won the playoff.

For golfers who might not understand Texas talk, let me put the advice in the telegram a different way: Once you address the golf ball, hitting it has got to be the most important thing in your life at that moment. Shut out all other thoughts other than picking a target and taking dead aim at it. 

This is a good way to calm the nerves.


Clarity of purpose when exact yields centered focus. Some might call that state of being THE ZONE, which happens at times in any endeavor where performance and precision become perfect partners.

How do we get into the zone? How do we stay there? And why would we ever leave a state of mind and body where we dart across the universe like a shooting star and yet do so in slow motion?

Most important: how do we get back?

The wisdom of another sage provides a path: Declan Donnellan's fascinating text, THE ACTOR AND THE TARGET,  cracks a mental whip with lightning bolts of clarity.

Do you remember the iconic scene of Robin Hood showing up at an archery contest, and the villain hits the center of the target. And Robin Hood follows by splitting that arrow?

That arrow splitting gives exact vibrant meaning.

Donnellan says:

1. There is always a target.
2. The target exists outside and at a measurable distance.
3. The target exists before you need it.
4. The target is always specific.
5. The target is always transforming.
6. The target is active.


One way of digesting these pearls is to acknowledge that clarity of purpose is constant, that the source of that clarity is elusive and changing, and that when we define the new source of clarity, we have pinpointed our next target, which like life (and dominoes), keeps tumbling, tumbling, tumbling.


Don't let them catch you at it.
Take dead aim.
You are what you see.
Bull's Eye.

1 comment:

  1. Very nice. See you soon enough!

    https://www.shutterstock.com/editorial/image-editorial/the-adventures-of-robin-hood-1938-5886016o

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