You Can't Win If You're Not In The Game

"You can't win if you're not in the game". This is a phrase that has been running through my head lately, and it seemed significant to me on a general level but it took me some time to realize what it means for me and why the narrative has been riding around on my axons and synapses lately.

I recently moved to Hawaii as a last minute decision in favor of freedom prior to settling down and packing it in for the long haul. You know, putting up roots with another "stable" job, another mortgage, and finding a great woman and building a family. But I have also recently become aware that there are other ways to live besides the "typical" pathway and all of the things that go along with it.

And so I took myself out of the game. As a matter of fact, I've taken myself out of a lot of games lately. I've taken myself out of the mortgage game, the relationship game, the investing game, the debt game, the car financing game, the worshiping sports figures and celebrities game, the watching all of the negative crap on TV game, and the caring about inconsequential shit in general game. And I did this while moving to a place where nobody knew who I was. This was all part of the plan, and it felt great. I was able to do what I wanted without any expectations and with a clean slate. I could even re-invent myself if I felt the need. I had saved myself the aggravation of dealing with many of the things that complicate our lives, and it honestly has made life much easier. There is now less busy work and paperwork to address, there is less relationship drama to navigate, there is less property maintenance and no long term commitments of really any kind. There are less of the previous "problems" in my current life.

It's as if I was white water rafting down a rushing river with most of the rest of the world and decided to paddle to the shore and watch it all continue to rage by. There are not many people on these banks. Some are in a similar position as myself and just needed some time to figure some things out and plan their next move before jumping back in and being consumed by the rapids. And some people really are lost and may not ever find their way again. In my case I am trying to find my own route through the white water to ensure that my life will include all of the things that I choose, not the things that society has deemed I should pursue.

...........................................................But at the same time, "You Can't Win If You're Not In The Game"!

Taking a temporary step back can be very beneficial in finding your unique path, your passions, and yourself. It is also courageous in some respects, such as the willingness to walk a different path depending on the way that hiatus is manifested. But I now feel that there is also a level of cowardice to completely disengaging from many of the typical staples of life, and that the ideal way is to cut-out those things that take away from the full experience of existence while playing the games required to obtain those things that make one's life full and worth living. For me these include experiencing life with family, friends, and the people of the world, as well as the ability to explore this Earth and all of the beautiful things it has to offer......and music.....great music. All the rest is just a bonus. What's your ideal life?