Life Is Not High Stakes Poker, Remember, You Are Not Closer to the Top of the Mountain Because Someone Else Falls of it.

THESE DAYS, WE ALL HAVE STRESS:

THESE SHORT PROVERBS MIGHT HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY.

FIRST, THERE'S THAT CONSTANT PRESSURE:

I. Constant Pressure -

If your Best Behavior is not your Natural Behavior,

Then --- Perhaps it is Provident that you are under such Constant Pressure.

The Blacksmith of Daily Living relentlessly

Pounds us into shapes we have not previously had.

But the pounding is less of a pounding,

The more malleable we become.

ONE OF THE WAYS TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURE OF LIFE IS TO:

Laugh at Yourself -

Self Importance, taking yourself too seriously,

Moping about silly losses and hurt feelings.

Mustering up indignation and irritability, just to hear yourself go off.

Giving someone the silent treatment, until they beg for the reason why.

Harboring a grudge because its lodged in your special gizzard of grief.

Getting as you self indulge thoughts of Vengeance.

Muttering about no one loving you,

Even when you are so darned love-able.

SOMETIMES WE CONJURE UP DISTASTEFUL ATTITUDES:

The Fall of Your Friends? Really?

It you sometimes hope for the Fall of your Friends,

And their Misfortunes give you Secret Glee, that's sad!

If that Secret Glee bothers you, then good, take time to think.

If you are openly proud of your Secret Glee, then you need repair;

And you are not aware of something:

"You are not closer to the top of the mountain because someone else falls off of it."

BUT SOMETIMES WE GET IN THE WAY OF GOOD ADVICE:

Ego's Voice

God's Voice comes from Within,

But it is soft and quiet.

Ego's Voice is Loud and Continuous.

Yes, we must Listen, but first ----

We must shut the hell up!

REMEMBER, LIFE DOES OFFER US WAYS TO REACH ABOVE THE MUNDANE:

Inebriated on Romance -

The Sweet Remembrance of Romance wafts through the day

And elevates daily duties to cloudy heights.

It permeates thoughts, leaves you dizzy and transforms the mundane to splendor.

Romance is nature's inebriate.

Love can be a Wonderful Relief.

Go through the doors of Romance,

And new worlds for the Psyche can await you.

There are plenty of reasons to be less ornery. Lots of ways to peace and calm.

"You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,

Know when to walk away, know when to run.

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table,

There'll be time enough for countin',

When the dealin's done."

^{https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_Gambler_(song) "The Gambler" is a song written by Don Schlitz, recorded by several artists, most famously by American country music singer Kenny Rogers. Don Schlitz wrote ...Released‎: ‎November 15, 1978 Genre‎: ‎Country Songwriter(s)‎: ‎Don Schlitz Producer(s)‎: ‎Larry Butler}

Kenny Rodgers immortal song immediately spoke to "poker playing" and life. When you hear about "dying in your sleep", you think, at least I did, when I danced to it on a night club floor in Chicago, that card playing shouldn't make us despair and ponder "the end". While other artists recorded the tune, it was Kenny's total look that packaged the hit.

It imparted "packaged wisdom". You could hear people chant as the song played. And indeed, as we climb our mountains, get stressed with constant pressure. let envy sneak into our overly serious "quests", we should remember that life is full of love and ultimately peace and calm.

In the end, we can't climb higher than a person who just fell off the mountain. But do we also realize that wishing for the death of the climber beyond us does not make us a better gambler, or climber or person. It might only predict that the envious "climber" was later an "ALSO RAN". (To use an image from racing.)