Have you ever felt like you’re in a crazy, mixed-up world? One where it feels like you are traveling down a million different pathways, where surprises and challenges are at every corner? Do you feel alone at times, and other times feel like others are in the game with you? Life is much like a pinball game. Yet in this game called life, you need to consciously be prepared for surprises and changes in your journey and for unpredictability or failure. That sounds so dreary, yet that’s my point. I find that this is the reality that most people wrestle with. Life isn’t predictable. Life isn’t always what you expected, and life isn’t being in control.
In this game you may notice the desire to see what the other balls are doing, but I guarantee the minute you do so you will find yourself coming back to the starting gate again and again. If you’re not in your own story you won’t be able to manage the quick shifts that are necessary to succeed. You may find yourself wanting to fix what isn’t working, but the minute you do, BAMB! Something from left field comes in and reminds you that looking at that issue too long made you a sitting target.
You may find that if you don’t love the game of life, you can quickly be swept into a life that you have no control over; one that leads you to dead ends and no real outcomes. You will feel like everything is managing you and you don’t feel valued. The constant motion will take you to two feelings, exhaustion and/or confusion.
I want you to learn to use the game as an opportunity to find meaning and purpose in your life. I want you to learn how to navigate it when it’s in motion and when it’s turned off. I want you to realize you have more power than you ever thought. The whole process is perfect. But it’s up to you to embrace it for what it is, rather than make it into something it isn’t.
There is a meaning that is far beyond being thrown around a game and losing control. That meaning is up to you to find, and the only way to get to it is through living your authentic life. I know for myself, when I chose to get real with this “game”, I found me. It was just that simple, all I needed to do was to love and trust myself. To know that I had this life for a reason, and that I wanted to share the real me with the world.
I love the game of life, the people in it, and the opportunity to share in it with others. It’s just that simple. My friends, may you find yourselves, use the game strategically, and you will win this game called life.