A mistake too many people – both the young and the old – make is playing games. By this I mean that we human beings embark on a competitive journey with nearly every other person we cross paths with; this is a mistake because we should not toy with each other. We should help to build each other up, make better people of the people around us, but instead we manipulate and deceive. We play games. That is what it looks like. That is how it feels. And, sadly, that is what most of our relationships with each other have become: a game.

We recklessly enter the playing field, equipped or not, rolling the die or dice and begin; we start to experience, failure and achievement, and so lose sight of fun. And the people we are playing with – should we not at least keep them in the peripheral?

It would also appear as though these games are meant as a form of training; we are rapidly becoming quite skilled at the art of ‘faking it,’ spending so much time trying to impress each other in what appears to be an exhausting effort to avoid being honest. In our efforts to disguise and embellish the truth, we are actually avoiding the responsibility that comes with being ourselves. Those who play well (I didn’t say nice, I said well) are moved forward while those who fail to impress the judges (who are they anyway?) are cast out; some are only sent as far as an arm’s length away, but others are sent so far away everyone else forgets they were ever playing at all. It is difficult to say what happens to those who move on. I guess they just keep playing.

I am still waiting for them to announce a winner.

So, then, I ask, why play at all? Surely, the answer cannot be for the fun of it. This kind of game is absent of fun, too consumed by judgement. I am inclined to think most people play because they feel it is something they must do; something they are supposed to do, if only because everyone else is.

I am an artist, and I refuse to colour inside the lines of life set by the game-players. I am different and I love that about myself. I love to be creative and really indulge in the world around me; emersion in nature is a reset for us human beings. Put the all the tech and gadgetry down and just step outside as you. There are no games or judgement out there in the real world, the world where you really exist.

The world around you is not the same world the game-players have created – lift the veil and open your eyes to the sunshine, as that is the true light we all seek. Wrapped in the secure warmth of your very being should be enough to shake that lack of confidence and encourage you to leave the games behind. Instead of playing, we should all try our hand at living. People need to come out of that “mine is better, bigger, and newer than yours” daze and into REAL life.

Possibly the most important thread of commonality shared by man is difference. This sounds odd, but it is true. Our difference is a thing to embrace and celebrate; we should not mask it and keep it hidden. It is so sad to see so many people tucking their true self away so they can be like someone else. And, it is usually in an effort to be different. What they seem to miss is that this struggle to achieve (false) difference actually renders them all the same. ARGH! People are so frustrating sometimes. Mimicry is killing out diversity. I fear it will in turn make us obsolete.

We need to exploit our difference, though not in a negative way, but we should take the risk of putting ourselves out there on a more regular basis. It could be the greatest thing you ever do. It could be a total disappointment, but the experience would be YOURS. Do not live your life to fulfill the dreams of other people or you will never have any of your own.

Make the mistakes of youth when you are young. Learn from them and try to avoid repeating them.

At some we must all grow up. At some point we must all be ourselves. Perhaps, the two are more synonymous than we know.