Patience is the name of the game

I love playing poker. Its a very exciting and rewarding game...you can learn a lot about other people through game play and also find out quite a bit about yourself. I can say without a doubt it is a game of character, and how it not only holds up under varying pressure, but how ones actions and intentions evolve as the game progresses. If there is one thing that I have learned about myself through the cards, its that I lack patience.


At times I want it all and I want it now. Instant gratification is not an option or point of view, its the only way to perceive. As a result, items, moments, everything- they become less enjoyable.


Its difficult to slow down, especially living in an environment that is constantly edging the individual towards the idea that more is better and it's never enough. I think we can agree that the "bigger faster stronger" mentality is an accepted norm of our American social ideology...a corner stone of the capitalist way. However I'm beginning to talk about to different things because impatience alone is not the vice we should fear- it is the combination of impatience and the loss of appreciation. One is the product of the other and vice-verse.


it is easy for me to get very bored very quickly with anything and everything. Why? Because its just never enough. And even when it is enough, if even for a little while, its the idea of more that drives ambition. Its a deadly cycle that continues producing ongoing dissatisfaction and sadness...eventually even depression. I really do believe that many of the issues American men and women have with happiness and depression stem from this socially accepted value system and way of living...because lets be honest- this bullshit point of view was made by guys in suits who wanted to gorge the economy- may it be at the cost of starving and robbing the individual of fulfillment.


Solution? Boycott. I look around at the things I have, the people that surround me, and I count my blessings. I am truly blessed and this life is a gift. What more could I want? Despite all the smack Ive just talked...and the fucked up problems we have...I really do believe this is the greatest country in the world. I'm extremely full. And when I realize I'm full, I am no longer impatient or unsatisfied or unappreciative. (and just to tie ends here with my poker intro...) I don't get crazy with my hand and risk all my chips on an irrational move- I simply take one last look, fold my hand, and wait for the next one. Hey...who knows, the Aces might be the next hand.