The Game of Life
The only moment that exists is the one you are living in...
If thou shouldst live three thousand years, or as many myriads, yet remember this, that no man loses any other life than that he now lives; and that he now lives no other life than what he is parting with, every instant. The longest life, and the shortest, come to one effect: since the present time is equal to all, what is lost or parted with is equal to all. And for the same reason, what is parted with, is only a moment. No man at death parts with, or, is deprived of, what is either past or future. For how can one take from a man what he hath not? We should also remember these things, first, That all things which have happened in the continued revolutions from eternity, are of the same kind with what we behold: And ’tis of little consequence, whether a man beholds the same things for an hundred years, or an infinite duration. Again that the longest and the shortest lives have an equal loss at Death. The present moment is all which either is deprived of, since that is all he has. A man cannot part with what he has not.
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
– Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
I lie awake, thinking of the past and different choices I could have made or fantasizing about the future and the alternatives I can choose when I remember that the only moment that exists is the one my mind occupies in this instant.
Every moment of my life is my opportunity to make my values and goals a reality through my decisions. In other words, play the cards I hold now, not the ones I held in the past or the ones I wish I could hold in the future.
My decisions and actions dictate my reality based on where I am in the moment. Being envious of others ignores the reality that I have no knowledge of their inner pain and problems. To look at others and think I would be happy if I had their possessions or position is to forget that surface appearances are often deceiving. I need only recall the constant turmoil and early deaths of the “rich and famous” to realize that wealth or fame is not synonymous with contentment or happiness.
Likewise, rehashing past decisions wastes my most precious resource: time. I have no way of knowing the consequences of alternative choices, which could have led to bad outcomes I couldn’t anticipate. I know where I am today, and I am thankful for playing as long, learning as much and experiencing all that I have. Envy and regret are my emotional mind speaking.
I have all the control I need in every moment of my life to be content. Simply pick up my cards and play the game the best I can. If I don’t like my position, I will make a plan and work to change it. Some hands I will win, others I will lose, but I will never be stalled by wanting to replay a past hand or wishing I had someone else’s cards. Every hand is an opportunity to learn, improve my game, and work toward my goals, and I can only gain these learnings by playing. Waiting, through reminiscing or fantasying, wastes my most precious resource, time. The only loser in the game of life is the person who is afraid to play.
In the game of life, possessions, experiences, and relationships are just stops and other players along the way, not the prizes or the goals. The end of the game is the same for everyone, but playing by the wrong set of rules, or playing by another’s rules, is the biggest waste possible. I will play the game of life according to my rules.