How to Play the Game of Life

Have you ever played the Game of Life? It's a board game created back in 1960 by Hasbro. They had these cool commercials, with the whole premise being that you roll the dice to see what "LIFE" deals you. You could get a kid, pay for college, get married, all the great things life can bring. When you roll, you could have parts of it that set you back a couple of spaces. Like paying for daycare, unexpected twins, or paying for life insurance.

In the Game of Life, you take steps forwards and then you take steps backwards. The hope is, that you win!

Right about now, you might be confused as to which "Life" I'm talking about. Am I talking about the "Game of Life" or am I actually talking about the Game of Life.

Have you ever felt like some days you take 2 steps backwards? Sometimes, there are even weeks like that. Some days you're rolling dice like the best craps player in Vegas, and other days you couldn't hit the back wall of a table even if you tried. It's crazy how life deals you a certain hand. You sometimes wish you weren't even playing at all, but somehow, you're still in the game. No matter what happens, you keep playing and you keep winning and losing.

When you win, you win big. Life couldn't be better. But when you lose, it could feel just the same. Being down in the pits is the pits. You're in a hole and there just doesn't seem to be a way out. But if I could give you a little bit of encouragement when you have a day, week or even year like that, let me say this...

It's going to get better!

The whole point to life is that there are peaks and valleys. The only way that works is that it is impossible to experience a peak without the valley. Some valleys just seem longer than others, but the same could be said about peaks. In Barrow, Alaska (one of the most northern towns of Alaska) there are times when the sun doesn't even show for 2 months straight. That's 60 days of darkness. But during the summer months, the same is true for sun staying out. Sometimes even 82 days of straight sun! Mother nature naturally has a shut-off point and so does life.

The key is to have a focus. If you relish those valleys/ winter months/ steps backwards (whatever you want to call it), then kudos to you for seeing it as a challenge. If you loathe those months, I encourage you to just look up every once in awhile. Peak your head out and look to the sun. See where the light could be and soak it in. Remember that one day, it will be that way again. When, is completely up to your perception of things. Most likely things will get better when they get better. That's genius! I'm a firm believer that it wouldn't be happening to you if someone, be that a higher power or universe, didn't think you could handle it.

In the meantime, let's make life a game and see if we could find the lesson in the darkness. Let's see if we could find the golden nugget that makes it all worthwhile. And if you need help in seeing that, just ask a friend or drop us a line. We'll encourage you and help you find it when you can't.

Here's to playing the best Game of Life that we can possibly imagine. May it be filled with all the joy and happiness that you dream. And may we learn the lessons that the challenging times bring.

Cheers

JG