CHAPTER 7
ARE YOU OUT OF ACES?
Part lyrics of Kenny Roger’s song “the gambler” reads; son I’ve made a life out of reading people’s faces, knowing what the cards were, by the way, they held their eyes, so if you don’t mind my saying, I can see you are out of aces, for a taste of your whisky, I’d give you some advice. If you are familiar with the card game, the term “aces” is near knowledge. The ace is the opportunist joker that can make or mar a game. A Gambler could have all the other cards but there’s a beam of smiles if he’s got an ace.
In our lives, there are things that elude us and keep us unhappy even if we have within our reach some of the best things of life. These things hold important positions in our lives and could keep us empty and doubtful of the future if we don’t have them. If you find yourself in a rough spot restless about something, you are out of aces.
Life comes with its many challenges. It’s like a card game where you have to challenge the opposition player. Challenging life to a duel could be gruesome because of life’s seeming experience in pulling some of the greatest minds down. We find ourselves as challengers by virtue of our living on earth. If you must survive the life game, “I’d give you some advice.”
If you are going to play the life game, you will have to play it right. You can’t afford to lose your best things to life. You need to acknowledge that you can’t have everything; you get some and lose others. The smart thing will be for you to go for the best things and let go the little ones. We need to know what to throw away and what to keep. Our callous minds may drive us towards grabbing all we can grab but we need to do some good thinking.
The valuable things in life are few as compared to things of less value. We could easily get the things of less value like in getting other cards, but for the valuable one I mean the aces, they require some patience, perhaps prayers, and luck and sometimes you will have to quit holding the less valuable things to have a grasp of things of value. Knowing what to throw away or what to keep is often very challenging. You may find it difficult probing your mind into the things you should throw and the things you should keep. It’s always tough. However, the responsibility still falls on you to make the decision.
Making these decisions requires painstaking thought. You will have to measure your value system and rate them on the scale of priorities from the most important (the aces) to the least important. Put behind your mind that however much the number of least important cards are, your aces must count. You can’t afford to lose your aces.
If you must truly survive against life, you’ve got to:
Know when to hold on. You don’t just jump to conclusions. Wait, Give some time, the tables may change and what you considered a great idea may just turn out a bad one. Try enjoying the waiting time while it last.
Know when to fold on. Sometimes we have to hide our personalities to see the other side of situations. We don’t come out yelling what positions we occupy every moment opportunity offers. You can hide under your shell and watch.
Know when to walk away. Sometimes, it’s great we accept defeat and quietly walk away from the scene. Accepting defeat does not mean weakness.
Know when to run. When you find yourself in a tight corner when you do know your aces are at risk, it’s time to run.
I hope you’ve found an ace that you can keep