Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Start Over.

Do you remember Space Invaders? The old 80's video game where row after row of aliens would march down the screen as you raced to shoot them down before they reached the ground and destroyed you? It started off easy enough. The aliens were slow, and you gained confidence as each one blipped into nothingness after being faced with your amazing trackball/button pushing display.

As you cleared each wave, the next wave would hit, and they would be faster, seemingly smarter than before. And no matter how quick you became, eventually you would be overwhelmed by that last speedy alien you just missed on the last pass.

You'd let out a breath, or an audible scream, or pound the table, but, if you had one left, you'd stick in another quarter and start again.

Yeah - you're waiting for it, so I might as well say it: Life is like a Video Game. The more you play, the better you get. The better you get, the more life gives you to handle. And in the end, we all die. Well, that's using a bit of a broad brush on today's metaphor.

Today's video games are a bit more life-like - not just in their graphics, but their approach. You still die, but you immediately come back to life, and instead of starting at the beginning, you return to the last checkpoint of your current challenge. You can actually complete a game, and be a winner. You can even win without picking up all the 'goodies' available - and then go back and pick up the goodies later on, if you still feel like playing after winning.

In both types of games, you're still faced with myriad choices at increasing speeds, and the ultimate choice of whether you will play on. You experience great joy upon success, and great frustration when the life is drained from your player.

Yes, there's a lot more at stake with our choices in real life. We also usually get more than a few nano-seconds to make our choices. Sometimes we're going to win, sometimes we're going to lose. Perhaps its time to change the game, perhaps its time to change our style of play. Regardless, the biggest choice we'll face is if we're willing to continue to play, in spite of the consequences of our last round with life.

Being a Champion of Choice isn't easy. It's a daily decision. In fact, its a minute by minute decision. And some days the Aliens win. You can choose to stare at the screen at the little white words that say "GAME OVER", or you can choose to pop another quarter in and start again.
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Thanks to Nigel Reed for suggesting this little video - just for fun.