Tag Archives: Yahtzee

Like Spinning Tops

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“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” —Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Human beings are so destructive. I sometimes think we’re a kind of plague, that will scrub the earth clean. We destroy things so well that I sometimes think, maybe that’s our function. Maybe every few eons, some animal comes along that kills off the rest of the world, clears the decks, and lets evolution proceed to its next phase.” —Michael Crichton

To say we tend to be in general disagreement about the purpose and meaning of life and the overarching point of human existence is a wild, laughable understatement. From the moment Homo sapiens had the cognizant ability to register self-awareness, we questioned the very foundation of our biological creation…and why we sprouted from the evolutionary centrifuge like a random Yahtzee toss to haphazardly land on this giant spinning blue ball in space.

Religious scholars looked to celestial evidence that blatantly contradicted the work of their existentialist philosophical counterparts, and the biologists posited theories born from the base building blocks of our DNA—which sent some anthropologists reeling. 

Our purpose, our motivation, and our utility have been debated for thousands of years. But we never seem to arrive at definitive resolutions or settle on any hypotheses that help quell the incessant, nervous race against the clock to make our mark before our bones turn to dust and history forgets we ever occupied a short-term rental on this rocket ride to nowhere.

So, do we suppress our thoughts and simply make peace with the undivulged mysteries of the world? Do we try to peel off the blindfolds and seek answers in the vast, unknown expanse of space? Should we look to the ancient past to find answers in the present?

Or do we continue to spin like tops, unaware of any grand design or decipherable blueprint that might provide a road map pointing to some attainable objective for this seemingly meaningless, ceaselessly repetitive dance into interminable monotony?

Adolescence Interrupted

The Past Is Writing Letters to the Present

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Lately, I have had a growing interest in the exploration of my roots, my past, and the road that has been walked by those whose faces I’ve never seen. It started as simple genetic curiosity, wondering where my family had been…and where it was most likely going. But it evolved into a headfirst obituary deep dive. Who were these people? How did they live? What pieces of the past were they passing down through the generations?

Based on a Yahtzee cup shake and toss, I was given a randomized mix of cells on a blank sheet of source code. A hand with tightly crossed fingers let the dice fly, and with that action, a tiny carbon being with multiple lifetimes’ worth of history behind him was let loose on the planet.

But how much of our journey is dictated by these former lives, specific hardwiring, and our core composition? Will the decisions we make and the path we think we have the power to choose ever be able to supersede a wet-inked blueprint just waiting for us to finish our scripted sentences while monitoring that straight-line slide from point A to point B?

I can’t remember my father’s face.

I keep trying to visualize what he looked like, especially at my age, but there’s a dark spot in my mind and I can’t complete the picture. I think that’s probably what pushed me onto this tangent. Then, as always, that small spark ignited an obsessive interest in exceptionally complex scientific information that led me down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. Ultimately, all I learned was that I probably need someone on standby with a mental lasso to save me from myself and pull me back into focus.

Still, the notion that we are all just pieces of the present delivering messages from the past is a fascinating and baffling concept. It goes beyond simply having your “grandpa’s eyes.” When you frame your entire existence in the context of human beings as living, breathing time capsules, it brings a greater sense of purpose and responsibility into focus.

So honor the past by making the most of the present…especially if you’re the last of your line.

Adolescence Interrupted

Turning Tables

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table3

Find me a streak of consistency and I’ll show you how quickly presumption becomes disbelief. As I’ve stated many times in this collection of musings, the only constant is change. When we feel like we’re clutching the frayed end of a rope with our last knuckle, that same line is used to pull us from the pit. Dark days are followed by sunny opportunities and the ever-evolving journey of human existence continues on its path, pushed only by a vague sense of purpose, happenstance, and luck. But hold on for that final loop because it just might be the ride that reveals what you needed to see.

A combination of opportunity and rewards from past behavior have united to alter the landscape of what I previously thought was a smooth passageway beneath the mountains, through the valley. I like my roads traversed—the brush beaten—to offer an unobstructed view and the absence of pitfalls. But without risk, there is no reward, and the flatline life, in all its predictability, neither challenges the mind nor nurtures the soul. So a lot of stress and a little shaking of the Yahtzee dice flipped my table on its top. I stepped to the edge of the unknown and jumped.

What the future has in store is heavy with potential and the hope of a portrait painted with fresh colors is no longer conjecture, but fact. I’ve saddled my steed and strapped in for the long haul. Through collaborative effort and a discerning view of the map at my feet, I’m finally able to grip the reigns of my future and steer.

Adolescence Interrupted