I’ve had a couple of analogies of life in the past. I have likened life to a spider web, driving, babies and a lot more unlikely things where, surprisingly, I’ve made a connection and reflection about this thing we all call life. This time, my recent addiction to the game of checkers, called dama in Filipino, made me think that this one too is a lot like life. If you don’t believe that this game that’s almost synonymous to bumhood because it can be easily played by anyone killing time (On the streets, all the tambays need are bottle caps and stones to represent a each player’s pieces. The playing board is made by drawing lines wherever the see fit for them to spend all day.), then I’m going to give you my top 10 reasons why I do think so and probably after reading all these will convince you that it is indeed.
1. The game starts with a single step. In checkers, regardless who moves first, both player will just move one squares at a time. Everyone of us were babies once and we started walking just like everyone else, one baby step at a time. But it doesn’t stop there. Even after we’ve learned all the fundamentals in life during our infant stage, sooner in our lives, we will once again encounter this same scenario wherein we need to put one foot forward to start on that new challenge – like going to school, having a job, getting married, and having a baby just among the few. The cycle of learning, at least as long as we seek it, will repeat itself until we find ourselves contented. (“A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” – ancient proverb)
2. Sacrifices have to be made to win. In checkers, time will come that a player will have to sacrifice one piece for him to take two of the opponent’s. As we grow older, and hopefully matured, we began to be exposed to the reality that life is never without sacrifice or compromise. We have to accept that achieving what we desire requires us to get out of our comfort zone and in so doing we experience new things, meet new people and pick additional knowledge along the way which will lead us to whatever goal we’ve set in the first place. (“One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it” – Sidney Howard, American playwright)
3. The one behind you is your best friend. In checkers, to avoid being jumped by the opposing piece, a player must ensure that right at the back of his leading piece is another one of his pieces. There are instances in our lives that even if we are ahead of the others, we must constantly check that we don’t go that far from those who we love or cherish the most because it is they whom we can rely upon in case trouble comes to us upfront. They may be are our best friend, family, wife or even God. Without them to support us, in trying times we will crumble to the ground like weak towers. (“The road to success is filled with women pushing their husbands along.” – Lord Dewar)
4. Strength in numbers is not always a guarantee. I’ve proven several times already that winning the checkers game is not determined by the number of pieces left compared to the opposing player’s. There are things in life that numbers or quantity doesn’t translate to success. In the manufacturing world where I came from, we call it “quality first before quantity (output).” This one I believe is true. Although most of us believe that there is strength in numbers, some situations in life calls for us to make use of whatever resources we have. We may have lesser friends yet they are all trustworthy. We may have lesser money yet we are contented that the others. We may not have attained higher education yet we have the opportunities. We may be against the whole world yet we have nothing but God. (“It has been my philosophy in life that difficulties vanish when faced boldly.” – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction author)
5. Short-term thinking is good but strategic planning is better. In checkers, jumping one opponent’s piece one at a time may be fine, but delaying it so as to get much more on the next is obviously better. As much as each one of us normally enjoys the short burst of satisfaction we get from things such a part-time job, finding a 100-peso bill, getting a 20% discount from a mall sale, or being treated by a friend for free beers, we however should not ignore that planning or investing for the future is a lot better despite not feeling its immediate effect or benefit. While it is not bad having short term satisfactions, it is however great if we practice “delayed gratification” and foresee ourselves reaping its rewards in the future. (“The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.” – Sun Tzu, Author of the Art of War)
6. You don’t always win. In checkers, just like any game or sports, victory is not always assured. Even most of the great Olympiads have experienced the agony of defeat against an underdog. Most great disappointments often occur when one expects that he is always better than the other. Once someone foster such kind of thinking, it usually results to undermining the other’s capability which often lead to being caught unguarded after realizing that he is already losing ground. So the measurement of a true person is how he is able to get back up after a sore knock out. (“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson” – Dalai Lama)
7. Paying attention to details is key. In checkers, a player failing to take note of his opponents movement and pieces’ position will lose control of the game. In life this one too applies. Being insensitive or ignoring what is going on around you will cost you big time. It therefore pays a lot to check on almost every aspect and conditions of being human – social, environment, culture, spirituality, work, etc. as these are factors that will be part of either your success or failure. (“Close scrutiny will show that most “crisis situations” are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.” – Maxwell Maltz, motivational author)
8. Mimicking every action your opponent makes doesn’t help. While playing checkers, I experimented with doing the exact movement my opponent makes. I soon find out that often times it either leads to a draw, or worse, to a defeat. In business (or even employment), one might succeed at first by copying products that is selling like hotcakes in the market. However, continually having the same business practice, its competitors may eventually catch up and if one fails to see it coming, and worse doesn’t have the capability to innovate, he will be spiraling into obsolescence in no time. (“But it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville, American Novelist)
9. Surprises do exist. In checkers, time will certainly come when your over-confidence or inattentiveness will result to either a surprise attack or better yet, an opportunity for you to jump his piece(s) on your next move. No matter how we prepare for everything in life, surprises will come our way whether we like it or not. For the favorable ones, there’s winning a raffle or lottery, meeting a long lost friend out of nowhere, getting an unexpected promotion or salary increase and so and so forth. For the bad and unwanted ones, there’s the sudden traffic jams, weather disturbances, sickness, layoffs, accidents, death and so much more that will surprise us every now and then. And not accepting the fact that they may come our way is imprudent if not delusional. So let’s expect the unexpected and deal with it accordingly as it comes along. (“Life is a great surprise. I don’t see why death should not be an even greater one.” – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer)
10. There is always another game. To take life too seriously is probably the most pathetic thing to do, both in checkers and in life. Personally, I look up to people who at the midst of every crisis can still project a smile and believes that tomorrow is always a brand new day. So while everything and everyone else in our fast-paced world have been so demanding and taxing, let’s not forget to enjoy the ride and keep in mind that the real reason why we opt to continue to exist and strive to improve our lives is because we care for the people whom we love the most. Carpe diem! (“Life is too important to be taken seriously.” – Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright)
Photo credit: Steve Snodgrass
Mood: 3/10 Honks!(I’m a hi-tech bum. I play checkers on my Nokia 5800.)
Tags: bum's life, checkers, larong dama
