Life should not be forced. If you're dealt a good hand, you run with it take your chances get caught up make mistakes and do it all over again. If you're dealt a poor hand, you don't discard everything, you play with what you've got. There is strategy, and behind those doors lies a dreaming giant. Some dub this giant fate.
It is 5:30 am and the birds share their liveliest conversation in the humid pink purple morning sky. I listen. Because what else is there to do at 5:30 am? We find ourselves in such a hurry to be productive and measure our productivity in a tangible form. As I've stated before on wealth, listening is building, and lightening your attachments is flying.
That is the setting, and here is the subject. Backgammon. A game I played briefly in my single digit years has recently been brought back into my life on my return trips to Hana. I've been playing on a 30+ year old game, and learning not just the rules again and how to win, but how to properly play the game. I've learned the ettiquette, the betting, and have considered how the universe unfolds similar to a game of backgammon, with a combination of both strategy and fate. Doing what you can and acknowledging what is out of your control. This is easier to recognize when playing backgammon in the jungle in between papaya and coconut trees, where the rainfall is so immense that nature provides food with no human touch necessary except broadcasting some seeds, or in this case, rolling the dice.
Backgammon has been studied by computer scientists and in the adjacent room, a priest and a rabbi duel it out. From ancient mesopotamia to the elizabethan era to 20th century new york city, we play.
Life should not be forced. I've relearned the game and have found new players, new strategies, met people who learned to play in Iran, Israel and Mexico. And now, moved into my new house in Paia, I discover the landlord also has a 30+ year old set. It is my belief that when the frequency you are exposed to of something rises, it is not an accident. So I write.
Like chess, there are many openings and strategies, more aggressive and defensive strategies, and the more you play, the more apparent they become. But no matter the experience you have playing this game, if you roll the dice well, get doubles and 5-3 and 6-4 or 3-2 just when you need them, you can be at a major advantage. I was playing for money, low stakes, and was neck and neck with my opponent. He had a one roll advantage over me and we were matching each other, each not missing an opportunity to take our pieces out. Because he was one roll ahead, it appeared he was going to win with his two remaining pieces sitting on the white triangle, two away from the exit. The only possible combination of dice he could roll to not win was a 1-2, a 1 out of 36 chance, or less than 3%, and that was the precise combination which showed up. Was that fate's gentle nudge, the backgammon gods sweet vengeance, good karma, or a guardian angel smiling? These are not times to gloat, just to accept and smile because it could very well have happened the other way around.
All games, not just the oldest two player board game, "one dark, one light," add a balance to your life. It may assist you in shedding a layer, adding a new one, or just put the rest of your day into perspective. To conclude, a quote from a book called "The Passion" and keeping with the theme All Pursuits Worthwhile,
You play, you win, you play you lose. You play.
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