My queen was lost but still, I was in good command of the game. I guessed the inability of Abdullah, one of my best friends, to counter and decided to attack with a perfect plan. I executed it and while doing this I lost the game – almost as usual. It was very hard to accept this.
Chess has a very unique lesson to teach. It excludes all the possibilities of luck and the only reason you lose this game is your own fault and this is what is most difficult to swallow. No doubt failure in chess raises self-doubts and while accepting the defeat you have to accept your weakness(es) actually. While trying to figure out what went wrong and justifying the strength of my plan, I realised that there is some part of the game which is still left to attend to and that is to accept the results gracefully.
When I was young (well, still I am), in fact very young, I was told that sports and games inculcate discipline in children. While on the other hand what I saw was quite contrary. Those around me who were most indulged in playing were bad at temper and study – mostly. So, I made up my mind that like other baseless and so-called wisdom pills, this discipline thing is also part of that fraud and the true joy of sports and games is in winning. This bias was further confirmed when I pursued law. I was always (and still am) involved in debates centred around what is right and what is wrong. Like which view, ideology or interpretation is true and which is not. In the beginning, it seemed all about a ‘right option and a wrong option’. But then I realised that it is not always about right and wrong. It might be a difference of opinion and both parties might be true in their own position. So, no one is wrong or right, and we all, being the slaves of our circumstances and experiences, adopt the views that suit us.
We live in a society where freedom of speech and expression is very limited and this freedom is sandwiched between a lot of restrictions. This society is very extremist in its approach whether the approach is right-wing oriented or left-wing. Diversity is not accepted at all and people are programmed to think in a certain way. The schooling and societal structure further strengthen the views. This can be further confirmed by the political fiasco/circus we are observing these days in addition to many other examples we usually see in our daily life.
I am not of the view that any subscriber of these wings is wrong or right. In my view, we all, as a society, lack patience and understanding for the different views. Diversity is seen as something alarming to the unity of society – one must then wonder how weak society is. While the core of the matter is totally irrelevant to society. The actual problem lies with us. We have forgotten that unity, like-mindedness, and veracity of our claim are not what is the way to success, satisfaction and a happy life. It is acceptance of difference which is the way forward. And this acceptance first starts from accepting our own faults, weaknesses and strength of our plans. To live in a fool’s paradise is something we all should avoid and should agree with Fyodor Dostoevsky when he says, ‘the cleverest of all, in my opinion, is the man who calls himself a fool at least once a month’.
The question then arises of what this acceptance is and how we should embrace it. Acceptance is not recognition or appreciation of the different views but appreciating the need for the existence of such a view. We human beings are very weak when it comes to releasing the situation as it is. We are distracted by distractions – almost always. We make plans, we pray and desire but if we consider it closely, we will realise that our earlier plans are at war with our current plans. Our earlier prayers are at war with our current prayers. We lament when something different from our wishes and desires happens and get distressed over it.
On the other hand, we also have the option to accept this fact with grace. We should know what we desire need not be the only best option and whatever happens is not in our control. Had it been in our control our lack of judgement would also have resulted too in chaos. In both scenarios, we have only one option, which is to accept the results which might not be in our favour.
Philosophers often give the example of a dog who is fastened to a cart and runs along with it. It is argued that we have similarities with that dog. He has one option either to run with the cart or refuse to do so. If he refuses, he will suffer pain and will still have to go along with the cart. What he does is that he accepts his fate and runs along. Similarly, whatever bad situation life puts us in, we have to accept it as it is like that dog and instead of refusing to run, we have to run along. That is the only option we have. Though it sounds quite a pessimistic approach it is the way forward. Our desires need not come true always and we must be ready to accept this inevitable.
This world is full of ideas, beliefs, opinions, ideologies and other such imaginary, yet important, entities and we have to accept all of them. It need not be necessary that what we think is always right as we can be wrong too. We might be short-sighted and can misinterpret the situation. If one has problems accepting this then ‘only one game of chess’, (perhaps with Abdullah) will do the job for him.
- Only One Game of Chess - 25/04/2023
- Horrors of Narrative Building - 27/11/2021
- Sexual Violence; An Easy Case? - 23/08/2021
