Life is just one big gamble - I am convinced of it. Although such as philosophy is generally alien to me, I found myself in a situation the night prior to beginning this Hub Page which really got me thinking.

It was Sunday evening. I had stopped working only to sleep in the previous seven days. I had arranged to meet a friend for a beer in our local pub - something unfortunately came up, however, and he couldn't make it.

Alone, therefore - and tired - I began seriously rehearsing my drinking skills and smoking one cigarette after another (outside the pub, of course!) When I heard the familiar strains of, "The Gambler," by Kenny Rogers, it was probably the catalyst which really got me pondering the meaning of life...

What do you think of when you think of gambling? Poker? Roulette? Betting on sports' results? That is how most people would consider gambling and those are some of the things they would most associate with same. In my new role as a philosopher, however, I am going to expand gambling to a much wider field. I am going to explore the ways in which each one of us gambles in our day to day life - most often without realising it - and how the outcome can often be far more serious than losing a bundle at the table...

There are of course tens of millions of people in this world - if not more - who enjoy a social drink now and again. Whether it be a few beers, a couple of shots of whisky, or a bottle of wine with a meal, drinking alcohol can be a way of relaxing, unwinding and mixing with friends and family.

The problem is, of course, that the practise of drinking alcohol can so easily get out of hand. Social drinking can become binge drinking, then acute alcoholism if it is not properly controlled and restricted to moderation. Excessive alcohol consumption sees us taking a very grave risk and essentially gambling with that most precious commodity and the highest stakes of all - our health.

How often do you cross the road when the traffic signals, in one way or another, tell you to wait? Do you view a red light as an inconvenience - a challenge, perhaps? Do you look carefully around about you and decide that it is worth the risk - the gamble? Have you ever attempted to cross the road in this fashion, only to hear the blast of a horn from an angry motorist whom you failed to notice? Do you realise the risks you are taking every single time you perform this action? Do you get a thrill from the uncertainty?

To cross or not to cross?...Heads or tails?...Higher or lower?...Red or black?...What will it be this time...and what will the result through up...?

Unlike drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or any form of tobacco is not acceptable, even in moderation. Every time we light a cigarette we are damaging our health and gambling with our very lives. Government agencies and health authorities across the globe tell us the damage we are doing to ourselves in this way and the risks we are taking, yet so many of us still happily hand over our hard earned cash and give the wheel another spin...

Anyone who could provide the answer to this conundrum would be a multi-millionaire overnight. Every day, people embark on new relationships, not knowing whether they will work out or not but willing to gamble and take the chance anyway. Sometimes the bet comes up - sometimes it doesn't.

My own feelings on this matter are mixed. I do believe that if two people have a long-term, loving relationship and are subsequently separated by death, then the answer is an unequivocal yes. Even if the relationship subsequently ends by mutual consent, I would say the gamble was worthwhile.

If, however, the relationship ends by one partner essentailly walking away, leaving the other heartbroken and devastated, then I would say that the gamble was a very bad one.

There are times in all of our lives when it truly seems that the deck is stacked against us and that no matter what hand we play, we lose. This is an unfortunate reality in the phenomenon that we call life and features more in some peoples' lives than others.

The next time, however, that you feel as though you have reached rock bottom, remember to tell yourself...