We've Got All the Right Moves and All the Wrong Faces

Life is a game.
Some may think that statement to be sadistically stated, but I feel it's relatively accurate. The board is the world, the pieces are the people, and the rules are outlined according to each society, which means there are thousands of ways to play: American Standard Rules, Dutch Standard Rules, Last One Laughing, Live Long and Prosper, take your pick! Over time you can switch from one set of rules to another, play a different game. If one is too hard, pick one with easier rules. If your pieces are outnumbered, find a board where you have more. Once you have your set up, get started. Win the game, enjoy your life, and live happily ever after? If only the game were the simple.

While in the game of chess you find yourself playing against a known foe, the game of life is fought against a much more immense entity. Some of us know this entity, or at least claim to, and we name it as such. Some curse God as their indomitable foe, others name it Satan. There are those that believe in neither and as such will seek any other name to ignore these dominant entities. Not that you have to believe in them to fight htem, it's all about whom you believing you are playing against. Who are the pieces then? Other people of course, though do not mistake them as the person you play. They are playing their own game, with their own allies, waging war against their own enemies. Is that hard to imagine? Perhaps it'll make more sense the moment you realize that you're not an entity fighting an entity. Your a piece on the board, only responsible for your own movements, not even those of the pieces around you, while there is only your foe who is manipulating his pieces as he desires, and perhaps even yours as well. The side that you're lined upon is not always the side you'll be fighting on in the end.

There is no waiting for turns, each piece merely moves as it can (if it's possible that is) and tries to prevent itself from being removed from the board. How do you win the game? Is there a king to be taken? Can you become a queen if you reach the other end of the board? Most likely you don't even know where the other end of the board is. Most don't even know of the objective of the game they're playing. But perhaps it puts it into perspective when you take the time and identify which game you want to play. You could even outline it:

Game Objective:
Piece(s):
-King
-Queen
-Pawns (8)
-Bishops (2)
-Knights (2)
-Rooks (2)
Current Position:
Opponent:
Rules:

Incredibly simple is it not? If only life were that way . . . or could it be? The truth is that we are playing a game, our lives are a game, and we are all caught in the struggle for our opportunity to win. We create relationships with people in order to help us get further, and for us to help them get further in their game as well. Ultimately, we all want the same thing, so why do we spend so much time playing against each other rather than playing against our actual opponent? The wise words that ring in my ears are this: "Knowing is half the game." I might wager to say that knowing is approximately 90% of the game. If you know your game, you are that much closer to winning it.

So, take a minute, follow the ridiculously simple and tacky outline up above and see if you know what game your playing, and what your game plan is. For some it's to have a family and live a simple, happy life. Other strive for more, and some for less, but identifying the pieces can help, or even just the entity. It may be bold to say, but from your position on the board you may look up at the entity you despise so much, the one who blocks all of your moves and seems intent on keeping you from victory, and see your own face. Be certain your playing the right opponent.