Either it’s me getting older or me getting healthier. That’s not the first time I am noticing this switch, but I think this is the one where I have the highest level of confidence and clarity.

You see the point is gaming is a pure distraction. I am not the one of people believing playing video games is childish. We play games for our entire life. There are people who choose to hide behind the games. While there are others who play games smart - using it as a way to get to the goal rather than a distractions. And there are those who choose to play suffer game, pretending they are not playing but being deadly serious.

Games people play

Eric Berne is the author of the book of the same title. Despite I’ve read it around 20 years ago, probably that was one of the first book about psychology I’ve read. Even that was in middle school - the title was catchy and I remember it till now. And it’s not only catchy but reflect the ideas accurately. We are all playing. Most of the life.

There are many ways to play bad games - games that makes us suffer. Mostly these are unconscious games. Karpman drama triangle is well known and a perfect example of the game, when people might change and exchange their roles blazingly fast. This is disfunctional game, that keeps people inside that triangle and they can’t escape it for decades. Some people spend there their entire lives. No critics or hard feelings here. That’s the choice they have all the rights to make.

The tricky part starts when someone tries to break the cycle and get out. It becomes really challenging, because... we’re always surrounded by the people who are playing the same games. Otherwise there is no contact, no interest and no reason to stay together. Similarities are always attracted. This might sound like a harsh lesson, and it is such. However, once the lesson is over - the level of mastery is unbelievable.

It’s not about God being evil or life being mad. That’s about the skills we have to acquire and lessons to learn. Oh, I think I have already said to many times so far. I’ll stop doing that here.

Ego games

Skipping all that endless lessons stuff I’m obsessed with I’ll cut to the chase. “Me” is not homogenous. “Me” is often fractal, personality that is made of many pieces. And “me” which is “ego” is mastering lying game. That’s not the flaw. Like many other mechanism it’s protecting us. Protecting so well we tend to believe what it says. It twists our filters, changes our perception, makes us understand the context differently. This is how “Me” can change the reality around me.

Thinking about events around me specific way and sharing it attracts specific people. We start to play games together. We bring and mix more energy and our attentions becomes fully consumed with the play. Yes, it’s a play, not even a game. And there is altered reality, new Gods and daemons, new friends and enemies. And we forget we are united. It becomes so important. And we become evil, acting badly. And pretending we’re doing the right things in a name of a better future.

It might be a money game or a power game. Or both. There are no other resources in modern world we are fighting so eagerly. Endless conflicts - inner and outer conflicts. Our greedy fighting our fears. And we try to put it together and call it morale. Or culture. Thousands of years discussing on what’s “good” and what’s “bad”. Setting boundaries and crossing them.

Summary

I was not intending to make it as serious as it turned out. There is one thought I want to add on to the top of it. If there is anything higher, bigger, more important than the game - there is always the light in the tunnel. Is that Universe, God, Family. We need an anchor higher than us to keep moving.

By the way there is an interesting take on goals, that is somehow related. But that’s the other story.