Opportunity is Knocking, it's not a Jehovah's Witness, Answer the Door

Have you ever played poker? It's a fairly common game, I like to watch my friends play and I sip some wine. I don't like playing the actual game as much as I like to think about the rules. You are dealt a hand of cards, sometimes 5 and sometimes 7. Depending on what kind of poker you're playing, you can hand in cards for new ones. And this is just not fair. I think this is one of the reasons gambling causes so many problems for so many people. Think of the dealer, in real life, as God. You can't just ask God to deal you a new hand of cards because the ones you hold in front of you just don't work. I call these people the "lottery 'winners'"; they're always waiting, wishing, hoping for a new hand, and to win something by luck. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having hope, but throwing money down the toilet, and having a reactive attitude isn't going to get you very far.

I'm a big proponent of the idea that life deals you your hand, you do not get to turn any of those cards back in, it's your job to figure out how to play them. But there is less luck, and more strategy in this case. If you have a pair of twos, then you have a pair of twos and you just have to ride it out, don't fold because you never know, maybe you have the best hand at the table. (I guess that is a little bit of luck but for the purposes of this piece ignore that). Where strategy really comes in is in seeing the opportunity in your hand, and just playing it because that is all you have. In life, you're dealt family and unpredictable, and sometimes favorable, and sometimes less favorable events in life. These are some of the things, the cards, you cannot change. Whine about it all you want, thats what you haved. So even if it's not the hand you wanted, you better see all the opportunity you can to put yourself in the best position for attaining happiness.

Why do I bring this up? It seems as though I've been dealt a hand that hasn't won the jackpot yet, and I am certainly not complaining; I'm seeing the opportunity in things that are "less than the jackpot". Just because life isn't giving you everything you ever hoped and dreamed of does not mean you've lost out, you just have to look harder. I've been spending alot of time at home due to my father's declining health, and I'm staying away from all sharp objects, let me tell you. But even though I wish this wasn't all happening; there are a lot of good things coming out of it. My family is much closer, I've rekindled a few friendships that I never thought I would, and I've done some housekeeping in my own life, deciding what matters, and what doesn't. At the end of the day; there is still a great deal of love in my life, it's just not coming in the form I expected. And sometimes I wonder when am I going to get my white picket fence, with the nice backyard where I can drink wine and write? If you ever spend time in a casino, check out the poker table for a while. Eventually, everyone around that table will win big, they just have to stick around long enough, and sometimes invest more than they wanted to, and it sucks and its hard. You just have to give yourself the opportunity to win by staying in the game.


**Note: I do not condone excessive gambling when it comes to actual card games.