Saturday, September 19, 2015
They say that life is made up of infinite choices, that we are here because of destiny or fate, and that life is a game of chances. Many say that the possibilities are endless, but some say life is a gamble.
For me, life has very limited choices or, if you are
lucky, no choice at all. It is not about chances because it is all about
choices. Destiny doesn’t exist because we are where we are right now because we
chose to be here. We didn’t just ride the waves and hoped it will lead us to a
better place. We may not be able to choose which family to be into but we chose
the path. I know it’s ironic that I said that life leaves you without a second
choice and yet we chose to be here where we are now, but what I meant was we
chose to move forward. We didn’t stay and play safe. We gambled. We were
uncertain of what we will be facing yet we chose to move on.
Like gambling, life is also addicting. The more I
live, the more I want to live, expecting something great to happen. I remember
the time when I got addicted to the crane-like-machine that had stuffed toy
prizes. I guess it may be called gambling. Then if so, it may also be called as
life. Consider this: I insert a token, then move the crane, reach and grab the
prize, go back, get my prize, then celebrate. It’s very similar to life. I
sacrifice because I chose, I act, I try reach my goal, when I obtain my goal I
go back to my family and to square one, then I enjoy my accomplishment and
start again. If ever I don’t get the prize, I try again, and the wheel of life
continues to turn. Like our life, we try and try. I gambled to leave the
comfort of my own home to study here at the University of the Philippines
Baguio.
There was a time when all the toys I got from the
crane were displayed on our shelf. I was admiring them, appreciating my hard
work, and feeling satisfied with my efforts. We can compare this to our lives.
We tend to take a step back and to reminisce our good memories, specifically
our achievements in life. When we are losing track, we look at our accomplished
goals and think what of we have done to finish the task then use it to our task
at hand.
I enjoyed the crane game because I knew there will
be a prize if I tried. Many of us lose hope because we don’t want to gamble. We
want to keep it safe. We only feel happiness when the prize is at our hands. We
disregard the fun in doing the task. If only we could see life in simple
activities, like the crane game to me. Just doing the things makes us happy.
The prize matters but how you got it is what really is important.
I am not saying that we should gamble every single
time we get the chance. I am saying that we should not play safe all the time.
Playing safe is safe so it is good for us, but sometimes we need to think
out-of-the-box. Sometimes we need to activate our inner googliness. We just can’t just pray and then do nothing. But we
can’t just do something without thinking the situation out first, or doing
something when we know we are incapable of doing.
For me the crane is like my life. When i succeed, I give the prize to others. I dedicate it to others. I make the people around me happy. Making everyone smile is my goal. Keeping my eyes on the prize and my heart on the art of playing the game. That is my life. The life of a crane game addict.
In the end, it all boils down to doing it one step
at a time. You don’t move the crane without putting a coin in. like life we
can’t move if trade-off does not occur. We need to give something up before we
act. We act, we fail, we try again and again and again. We need to make the
right choices, and if we have no choice at all, we need to be creative. We need
to act and think bit by bit, one step at a time.
~Dizzy is Justice~
