Get In The Game

The numbered tiles are the heart of a highly addictive table game called Rummikub. In the game, each player draws 14 tiles, face down so you can’t see the numbers, and uses those tiles to start play. Enough to say that the unseen numbers you draw at the beginning make a big difference in how the play develops. More than once I have taken my unseen 14, turned them over so I was the only player to see them, and, with great disappointment, said: “Oh…..no! Bad draw! Lousy numbers!” But, and here’s the point, you have to play the hand that was dealt, or in this case, the hand drawn.

A commentary on life. As in Rummikub, it doesn’t do a lot of good to complain, or moan, or gripe about the “tiles” I’ve been given. You and I know people who would rather gripe than get in the game. You just take what you have, get in the game, and in the course of play, you make those numbers better. Each of us has varying gifts or skills or talents, and with gratitude, we live each day in thoughtful, creative, compassionate ways, and guess what, win or lose, it turns out to be a pretty good game, at least better than we expected. Don’t underestimate yourself. Those “numbers” you have can do much more than you think, more than you can imagine, when you are grateful for your place at the table and when you play the game with compassion and integrity. Today is a new game. Ready, set, play!