The Game (The Game is Life, #1)

by Terry Schott

If we can’t rationally explain a curiosity, then, given enough time, most will accept an irrational answer.

Magic does exist. It could be easily observed if only people were looking for it in the right places.

“Our world seems to be addicted to the easy way of things. Unfortunately, what seems easy at first almost always ends up causing pain, suffering, and loss. Why do I get fat and sick when I eat tasty junk food? Why must I perform painful exercise to stay healthy and in shape? Why do I have to sacrifice so much of my time studying in order to improve my intelligence? These are the types of questions that no school teaches us, and the answer is simple. It doesn’t matter why, that’s just the way it is. If you want to breathe air, then you can’t lay on the bottom of a pond. If you desire wealth, you can’t sit in front of your television screen and expect it to find you. If you want to learn how to play a musical instrument, you must pick it up and spend thousands of hours practicing. A sense of entitlement is a serious affliction which affects the majority of people living both inside and outside of the Game. Your life will improve dramatically when you stop expecting the world to hand over its treasures to you simply because you want them.”

“You are welcome, my friends, even though you are too bitter and angry at yourselves and what little you have accomplished to thank me.” There is always an angry bully who wants to ruin the beauty in everything around him. I’m glad those people are not the majority.

Such a shame, to get stuck doing something for the rest of your life that you don’t love simply because you invested time or money.

This game we play, just like the life we live, is filled with contrasts. It has to be. Being warm is much better if you have known what it is to be cold. The light is a welcome break from being surrounded by darkness. Earth is contrast. Nothing is bad or good, things simply lean toward one side of the spectrum or the other. Some periods in a person’s life are full of confusion, peril, and pain, while others are filled with clarity, safety, and pleasure. I advise you to slow down and enjoy yourself when things are good. It can go on for years, but don’t waste one precious moment of the good times. Because the bad times always appear and, if you haven’t built up your reserves during the good times, you may not make it through the bad.

“Thankfully, most people playing in the Game have no clue that they might be able to do extraordinary things, so they never even try. That’s a good thing because the Timeless have done many ‘impossible’ feats over the ages. It’s entirely possible for humans to do things like fly and breathe underwater for short periods of time.” They look surprised by my statement. I nod. “I doubt anyone can get there mentally, but that’s the only thing standing in the way.”