[losing questions]

Raise your hand if you like losing!
Me neither.

Losing makes me sad, which is why I only play Cribbage and Texas Hold'em, not Scrabble. And losing when the stakes were all I thought I wanted? Well, I'm sure you know how miserable that was, because I've been calling and crying to you for seven weeks now. [I speak in past tense, but I'm certain this type of losing is also a significant part of my future.] Upon that final, crushing, sorry, no more trying, you're finished, please leave now moment, what do you do?

The sad truth is, good guys often get taken advantage of. When I lose my temper, it’s usually because I don’t want to get taken advantage of, I don’t want to be disrespected. I’ve stepped into a game in which people are keeping score, and I’m determined not to lose. But the truth is, there is no game, it’s just a hoax, and the only way to show others there is no game is to lose and show how much it didn’t matter. Perhaps that’s why Jesus asks us to turn the other cheek, to give our shirt to somebody who asks for our coat and so forth. He wants us to show people we aren’t playing their game. [miller]

I'm not sure. Do you think this is just a childish way of kicking the Monopoly board across the floor, crossing my arms and pouting? Is it the same as saying, "Whatever! I wasn't really playing anyway!" I think that's the temptation for me: to reject the game because I lost, not because I can see a bigger story.

Or might this idea be the key to everything? What if, like I've considered before, we're all trying to get an unattainable thing [winning at life] in an impossible manner [proving ourselves right and others wrong, even though our religion]?

Is there a way to live out the idea that yes, it hurts more than anything to lose your illusions, without ditching the people who still live in this world where this 'game' exists as their reality?

How do you live past the ache and into Love without giving up?