Shuffle the Pieces
For That Secret Insight
Funny how ideas come to you. I was just playing a few games of solitaire. I can’t lie. I was glued to my seat. I’m a psychic, but that doesn’t really give me a leg up on anything more than any other person. But my Folk in Spirit try. I have a load of wash in the sink right now. Nothing too strenuous. Just four shirts and the kitchen towels.
They’re going to take a good two days to dry because it’s not hot as blazes anymore. All is upon us. Anyway, the guides have been urging me to get up and finish the load. The clothes have been soaking for over an hour, and that’s clean enough for government work in my book.
“Better get up. Better go and empty the sink. Better get going.” That’s what they’ve been saying to me.
Right. Acknowledged. Thank you for your help. But I just want to win one more game.
Also, if you’ve read this far, you’ve probably read for 30 seconds, which, according to Google, is 60 to 70 words. If the wind is blowing in the right direction, I will get paid by Medium. More than likely, they’ve changed the rules on us again, and this article, like the other 24 articles I wrote this month, won’t see more than an accumulated total of $25 for the month. Shoot, I could make more money babysitting.
Thank you for sticking with me past the interlude. The problem is that I haven’t played Solitaire for a long time. Usually, my game of addiction is Mahjong, though in the past, I’ve been known to play some pretty intense hands of Solitaire.
I kept losing one game after the other. It was demoralizing. I kept saying, “Just one more winning game. Then, I’ll go do the laundry.” In the back of my head, I was arguing with myself that the situation was just getting silly, and I really should get a move on.
Then I thought of two things. I thought how much easier the game would be if I could just reshuffle the cards. I suppose in some camps, that would be considered cheating, but hey, it’s Solitaire. I’m only playing against myself. What was missing? Why wasn’t I winning more hands? I realized I did not have the head of a master player.
It’s hard to describe, but I think it’s close to counting cards. I’ll have to play some more to see if things start to get better. [Here’s a little aside with a comment from Spirit as I was re-reading this during the editing process. Spirit said in regard to shuffling the cards, “That’s called starting over.” Anyway, I thought it was funny.]
It’s like anything you do. Suppose it is a new thing or even an old thing that you haven’t done for a while the opening forays are going to be timid and ineffectual. You will not move with decisiveness because you’ve forgotten the basic steps of whatever you are doing. So, like any beginner, you are fumbling around, stepping on your partner’s toes, and just making a mash-up of the whole thing.
Basic moves. Ground rules. Plus, I love numbers. I remember once, during a meditation, I was following the numbers, as in sacred geometry and the Kabbalah.
I remember I watched numbers swirling up into a sort of waterspout heading for the upper reaches of the atmosphere and beyond, and for a few seconds, I had a sense and an understanding of the universe. It just all made sense for a few seconds. Fifty years later, I can still remember the profound awe I felt.
Anyway, playing solitaire can be like that. You can have an awareness of the cards that go beyond the cards in front of you. It doesn’t happen every time, but I realized yesterday I’d lost that touch. How to get it back? I suppose some more meditation on numbers might help. Certainly, playing more games would help.
I also remember solving problems back when I worked. Having that same understanding of the players involved and asking the right questions led to solutions — the same thing happened when I was getting stumped with an Excel formula.
I had to step away, close my eyes, be quiet for a minute or so, and then plunge right back in again. I might keep getting the same results, but somehow, I was eventually able to figure things out. Sometimes, I had to sleep on it and, in the morning, had a better handle on what to do next.
It is really just one foot in front of the other.
Okay, just for kicks and giggles, I’m going to play another hand, and we’ll see if a night’s sleep has made any sort of difference.
The goal is to win a game in under 3 minutes.
That was my mistake. I couldn’t stop. Good thing I don’t spend time in casinos.
Thanks for reading.