The Only Winning Move Is Not to Play
I grew up with Movies. One of my favorites is the old 80’s movie “War Games” with Matthew Broderick. In the end, this “learning” computer learns that some games cannot be won. The famous last line from the computer is
Photo from the movie, War Games. MGM
“strange game, the only winning move is not to play.”
This line has been in my head for nearly three years now. Yikes!
“The only winning move is not to play.”
It started in 2020 when the pandemic started. Around me, I could feel the fear. It was palatable.
At first, it just felt like a collective fear about getting sick. But as the year went on and I watched, there were many different fears for people. When I watched the news, I felt like it was trying to sell me fear. Of course, you can say, “There was a lot to be afraid of.” True. But isn’t there always? Things to be afraid of?
For a while out of curiosity, I explored the “conspiracy” side. I tuned in to their information. What I found there frequently was fear as well.
It felt to me like what was really being marketed to me was fear. What if the game was “Fear?”
This line kept echoing in my head, “the only winning move is not to play.”
So, instead I decided not to consume material laced with fear from anyone.
Well, as I discovered, there is a shit ton of fear out there. LOL. At one point I just had to turn off everything, the TV, the computer, my phone (symbolically), certain conversation topics, … lol.
You could say this is “escapism.” And sometimes I said this exact thing to myself. However, after a while I felt so much better inside. I discovered this blooming inner peace and joy. Inside my intimate world, there was such beauty and so many things to be grateful for. There were people to love and pets to cuddle with. There was fresh air, hard work, and my health (which continues to be good and I am eternally grateful for that.) And sure, there are things that bring up fear in me, but often they are things close to my life that I actually can change or at least do not feel powerless in relation to them.
“The only winning move is not to play.”
What if the world is presenting its’ drama so that we will forget what is most important and just live in fear? What if everything is just a tv series trying to get us to binge watch? Lol.
I am not saying “don’t care.” Peace can coexist with compassion. I am not saying, “don’t be informed.” I am saying discern very carefully what you are being “sold.” Decide what the game is. If the game is “Fear,” you do have the option not to play. You can find another source for your information. You can turn the TV off. You can change the conversation.
In the end, the most important thing is what is going on inside of you.
I feel that the more of us that exist with some Inner Peace, the more that Peace will be reflected around us. This is how I believe we will change the world.
What if “The only winning move is not to play?”
Ponder this. I know I do.
