The Game

I'm not the first to notice the similarity between life and poker.  Kenny Rogers' song, The Gambler, may be the most well known analogy.  I liken life to a game of 5-card draw.  You get 5 cards and you can exchange up to 3 for different cards in hopes of improving your hand.

In the game of life I define the 5 cards as intelligence, attractiveness, personality, health and environment.  It's a mixed bag of nature and nurture elements, some a mixture of both.  You can't choose the environment you were born into nor the health you were born with; those are 2 cards you can't exchange.  You can improve your appearance and, although many experts say personality is fully developed by age 7, I contend that it can be changed and improved as you grow and mature.  I also think intelligence can be enhanced, if not improved, with the right stimulus and education.

There's a lot of luck involved.  A scant few are dealt pat hands and fewer still, incredibly lousy ones.  Most of us get a mixed bag of keepers, losers and so-so's - and harbor high hopes of exchanging the marginals and losers for something better.  The cards themselves aren't the only factor, though.  How you play your hand has a good deal to do with the outcome.

The analogy was recently refreshed in my mind by a conversation with an old friend.  Verna's 33-year old son, Justin, was born with multiple health issues, has been struggling with them ever since and will have to continue that struggle throughout his life.  I commented to Dave (my old friend and Verna's husband) that Justin was dealt a lousy hand.  And that reminded me that I was dealt a pretty darn good one.

We who received the good ones should remain cognisant of the fact that it wasn't our doing.  We were lucky.  When we're feasting on turkey in a few weeks, let's be thankful for the good cards.  I'm thinking that family, in the form of genes and environment, deserves most of the credit.