The game of life

When my daughter Danae was a teenager, she came home one day and said: “Hey, Dad! There’s a great new game out. I think you’re going to enjoy it. It’s called ‘Monopoly’.” I just smiled.

The family gathered and set up the board. Well, it didn’t take the kids long to figure out that old dad had played this game before. I soon owned all the best properties. My kids were squirming and I loved every minute of it. About midnight, I foreclosed on the last property and did a little victory dance, but my family wasn’t impressed. They went to bed and made me put the game away.

As I began putting all of my money back in the box, a very empty feeling came over me. Everything that I had accumulated was gone. The excitement over riches was just an illusion. And then it occurred to me, “Hey, this isn’t just a game of Monopoly, this is life. You sweat and strain to get ahead, but then one day, after a little chest pain or a wrong move on the expressway, the game ends. It all goes back in the box.”

I once saw a bumper sticker: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That’s wrong. It should say: “He who dies with the most toys dies anyway.”


From TODAY, Voices - Monday, 02-Aug-2010
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