I like Soviet Hypnosis...erm, I mean Tetris.
It's simple, sleek, and oh so maddening at times. I don't play it on a consistent basis, but every once in a while, I get the bug to play.
As a few of you know, I also have a lot of trouble sleeping sometimes. This week was one of the roughest patches of sleeplessness I've ever had. I'd try to go to sleep around midnight, but my body said, "Um, no, I want to sleep later--preferably around dawn, please." So there I was in the middle of the night multiple times this week like that nasty cat that howls and rummages through the trash in your neighborhood in the middle of the night--well, without the rummaging and the nastiness.
Guess what I did during all those waking hours?
So I played Tetris--a lot. As the exhausting, but waking, hours passed, my fingers flew over the arrow keys faster than people rushing into Wal-Mart for the "After Thanksgiving Day Sale." As the bricks fell and clicked into place by my command, my mind started putting together insights and ideas related to the game. Ironically, some of the very same advice I would give to another Tetris player after hours of gleaned experience and skill, would be some of the very same advice and general principles I'd give to you, my fellow friends, on this journey called life. I would like to share them with you:
1. Pay Attention to the Details- It is very easy to make little mistakes that will have huge consequences for you in the game. One wrong placement of a piece does have the power to destroy the game. How can one loose attention to the details? I've found I lost attention when either I was moving too fast and rushing, or when I became unfocused and let my mind wander too far away from the task at hand. When I rushed, I would accidently place a piece in the incorrect position. When my mind wandered, I often didn't pay attention to see if the piece and the space I wished to put it were indeed matches.
We often hear such phrases as "don't get caught up in the details." There is merit to that. There is also merit in paying attention to the small moments in life as well. Many small moments added up together will make the sum of something. Don't discredit the small everyday moments too easily. Don't rush through them like a quick task to be checked off the list. Don't absentmindedly go through the motions without a thought in the world.
2. Be Decisive- This is especially important when playing the higher levels of Tetris. As you level up, the speed increases. By level 10, you're practically flying at light speed. (You could make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!) You have to make a decision and quickly. You can't keep turning the piece trying to find the best option. You need make a choice and stick with it.
In real life, we often have the luxury of taking the time to weigh the options carefully and choose the best option. If you have the time, absolutely do so. The life principle I'd like to share though is that we have to make choices at some time. We cannot constantly live in a state of indecision. Each decision is unique and has various consequences and rewards. Each important decision needs to be weighed and considered in its own timing carefully with prayer and wise counsel. Just keep in mind that decision cannot be suspended forever, for the most part.
3. Your Greatest Mistakes Can Become Your Greatest Victories- There was no good way to shorten that principle. There is power in that sentence--YOUR GREATEST MISTAKES CAN BECOME YOUR GREATEST VICTORIES. On the version of Tetris I play (freetetris.org,) my highest score is around 57,000 while my average score is around 30,000--quite a difference. The interesting thing about my highest score is that during that game, I remember making a lot of careless mistakes right in a row, and I thought that I had mucked up the game pretty badly. I was a millisecond away from reloading the internet page and starting over. For some reason, I changed my mind and decided to stick with it. So I wiggled my butt in my computer chair and stuck my face right up into the monitor. I diligently placed the pieces as they flew down at warp speed (level 12). Before I knew it, I had worked my way out of the hole I created, and I was flourishing. What I also started to notice is that the horribly placed pieces were actually now the perfect placement for the new pieces I was receiving. Those "horribly placed pieces" became the structure upon which I built my victory.
With a little stubborn persistence and an unwillingness to give up, it is possible to turn things around. If you refuse to give up, you can overcome. (Now, there is a big different between "refusing to give up" on something and "letting go" of something. That'll be another blog for another day, perhaps.)
One of my favorite Bible verses (though I do like all 31,102 of them,) is Romans 8:28. It says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." God is a generous God. He gave all humanity its life and breath. He causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall upon all--righteous or not. Romans 8:28 is a promise only to believers, the children of God, the ones who love Him. All things--the good, the bad, and the ugly, will be brought together under His control and guidance to create something good. Under the mighty power and sovereign hand of God almighty, God is working on behalf of His children as a loving father would. Through the power of God, YOUR GREATEST MISTAKES CAN BECOME YOUR GREATEST VICTORIES!
Be encouraged today, and try not to play too much Tetris!
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