“You will now never go to the casino unless you are just showing it to some tourist… And even then, not play again”, instructed Jainee (my wife) after I lost 300 dollars on a spur of the moment trip to the casino… And her writ is more overbearing then any rules by anyone…
I argued in my mind (for doing it with her is a futile exercise) that everyone is a gambler…
What is the definition of a gamble – to stake or risk money, or anything of value, on theoutcome of something involving chance.
There are 3 operative words in the definition above – staking i.e. conciously taking a decision, anything of value, and that is subject to chance or uncertain.
The most fundamental truth of our lives, of our being, of everything’s existence is that there is no certainty… Everything is a probability…
We could probably live or die the very next moment… Our earth could be hit by an asteriod the very next moment… Our solar system could collapse in a black hole… We cannot really know…
Our kids – what they become we don’t know… Cannot predict… Our health, wealth… Our career… Our relationship… No freaking way can we be certain as hell…
What we all do is that based on our beliefs in casuality… That by doing certain things, the impacts follow, we try and tilt the odds enough towards our desired outcome…
Eating healthy and exercising helps better the odds that we will exist longer without diseases… But many still die early even after doing so… And many continue for long as lazy sloths…
Exposing our kids to various theories and information fills their minds with beliefs that may help them to get ahead in the race we have designed for us as humans… But some get ahead without going through the program and some fail miserably even after excelling in the training program…
We slog our lives out for our jobs and business… To earn money or fame or both… And some succeed using the same formulae and some don’t… Right place at the right time – a matter of luck is so critical for many along with their efforts…
Human relationships are absolutely unpredictable… And whilst we can swear by a set of rules that condition our emotions, the desired reciprocating outcome is never guaranteed…
What I am saying is that everything is a chance… And all our efforts – a concious decision and effort i.e. a stake of our time, money… Our life… Is to only better the odds of that chance event towards what we desire…
And trust me… We stake everything in our life… Much more valuable than anything we can imagine… To this gambles…
Why then a stigma on a gambler at the table of roulette or black jack in a casino vs us in this game of life…
(S)he can lose his/her bet, the kitty and so can we… All of it… Or some of it… Once a decision is made, it cannot be undone… One can try and rectify it with possible future wins… But time doesn’t come back in a casino or in life… Wins in either the game or in life is thrilling and joyful… And even playing the game is optional… Just that in life we feel we don’t have a choice, but many do decide conciously not to live through…
So you see… The old adage that life is a gamble is true… What’s wrong or immoral then in a casino? A smaller version of what we do in real life anyways…
We call people who gamble constantly as addicted… What are the CEOs and top political leaders doing if not gambling with a much larger stake…
We mention that in a casino we gamble, not even understanding the game properly and lose… Do we really understand the game of life? Dont we all eventually lose it anyways?
Everything is a gamble. Everyone is a player…
But then, coming back to my personal situation, I have not set foot in a casino thereafter… Jainee’s writ – that is one certain thing 🙂
Inside VG... 