Bowling is a great sport. It’s fun, social, challenging, and believe it or not – good exercise. You can go bowling on a rainy day and have a great time, and be home within a couple of hours.

Last night our family went bowling with our two grandsons. One of them had a great time bowling, and the other one had a great time watching. I won the award for “Worst Bowler Ever” because I just wasn’t at my usual performance level. Seriously, I’m not that great at bowling, but I do enjoy it a lot.

I think there’s so much to learn from the sport of bowling. In order to knock down as many pins as possible, you have to keep your eye on the middle arrow. Your aim has got to be really good. Secondly, your power and strength has to be worth something, because if your ball (read: my ball) is going to crawl down that lane, it doesn’t matter how wonderful the aim was; your ball will veer to the left or right.

Aim. Power. Very important.

And finally — your technique and  form has to be just right. You can’t twist your hand at the last minute just as you plop the ball down in the lane.

I tend to do that. I have good aim. So-so power. And lousy form, skill and technique. That’s right. I have my eye on those pins, I throw the ball down that lane, with high hopes.

And then just as I plop it down, my hand twists in such a way that the ball veers to one side of the lane.

Bump. It goes into the gutter.

Isn’t this a metaphor for our daily behaviors?

Here’s how I think of it:

Aim = goals

Power = action

Form = intuition, skill, talent…

In life, our intuition gives us polish – in the moment.

So plan for the goals. Practice and get power. And pray for the intuition to know when and how to use it.