…ZARA CHIRON…

I am so glad I made that little insignificant gesture because I got hooked instantly as the game is fast paced and engaging without requiring all of one’s brain power or concentration to play. But this is beside my point….

Ahem. So I realized, after I-don’t-know, a thousand games later that:

The Game of Hearts can be very closely compared to the experience of Life. Ahhh….you didn’t see that one coming did you? You thought this was some cliché, typical post about immature games in the dating sphere-well it isn’t!

So hear me out:

The Rules

In the game of Hearts the full deck of cards (52 without jokers) is used between four players and the basic objective of the game is to end each round-and the overall game, with the least number of points as possible. To achieve this one must aim to not acquire the Queen of Spades card or any card from the Heart suit as each of these cards combine to give the highest possible number of points in the game. The winner of the game is concluded when one of the four players is unfortunate enough to accumulate a hundred points (poor baby!).

A Closer Look
This game, after playing it, really gives new meaning to the old phrase, “….the Cards you’ve been dealt,” when making reference to circumstances in a person’s life.

You start off with a set of thirteen cards-randomly picked for you (by whom-we do not see). And depending on the hand (of cards) you have been dealt (aha!) it could make it easier for you to avoid accumulating points and be on track to winning the entire game, or more difficult….

But even at that, if you are fortunate enough to get a “good” hand-
You still need to make choices which will contribute to how the round goes. The choices you make could screw up the hand you were dealt or make you sail through. A mistake or bad call in judgment in a round could significantly set you back in the game and a good move could set you forward like crazy (kind of like Golf).

Also, the choices you make in a given round also determine what sort of hand you will be dealt in the next round….Interesting huh? (It is to me!)

And I must bring to light that there is always that element of chance or luck or x….I prefer to see it as Karma. If you stay true and try to apply the hand you’ve been dealt as wisely as you can-there is a chance that luck may go your way.
Sometimes you may be dealt what may seemingly be perceived as a “good” hand only for luck to swing things in an unexpectedly unfortunate direction. And on the same note, a hand may look “bad” only for luck to swing your way and have you sail through the round better than you expected.

And with most of these decisions made in this game-I find you rely on your “tools” (talents, gifts etc.); for me: it is my intuition and gut instinct as well as logical calculations.

So Let’s Get a Little Deeper
I am telling you this game is a great example of what I find Real Life to be about!

In life, you are given what you are given; you are born as you are with all that comes along with being you: genes, nationality, economic circumstance, talents, inherent inclinations etc. If your understanding and expression of spirituality is similar to mine-you may view how you came to be who you are; born into your particular start-off experience as God-given…and perhaps coupled with Karma and energy from a prior lifetim. Or perhaps you have a different take on how you came to be born as you were…. I am always open.

Your birth position in life can be likened to the cards being dealt to kick off the game of Hearts. You don’t see or know where the cards came from but you have to make do with them as best you can. Some people may start out seemingly at a disadvantage in life but end up doing well as a result of those same seeming disadvantages and vice versa in the case of the seemingly advantaged.

The energy and attitude you have in viewing your lot(cards) in life along with you’re the :gifts” you were born with will influence the decisions you make when taking action as you live your life (play the game) and those decisions inevitably determine how your life unfolds (how the next round of the game unfolds). A negative call in judgment could set you back in life and a wise decision could propel you forward but there is also always that extra element of “x.” Call it luck, call it God, call it whatever you want but the actions we take and the decisions we make combine with energy beyond ourselves to influence our lives.

My Conclusion?
Play the Game. Yes sure-try out the game of Hearts and see for yourself but I was really talking about Life. Live your life. I mean really live it. You have been given what you were at birth-embrace who you are and draw from yourself to Win-and I feel in this case, “winning” is (true) Happiness.

I do this thing where when I play Hearts and start off with a ridiculously bad hand or have a painfully horrible round-I keep playing. I want to get used to the feeling of losing because it helps me become more immune to the hindering baggage and fear that often comes with it.

I feel in life, in order to be successful you have to not be afraid to lose or fail and be able to experience bad and yet still feel so good-about yourself and your life. That comes from having inner strength that is sourced by Self-Discovery, Self-Love and Self-Expression.

Nurture the person you are inside just and have faith in your ability to create the life you want for yourself in order to realize true happiness. That is one thing I can say we are all entitled to in life; Happiness.