Blog 710 – 08.02.2017
Winning Isn’t Everything

We were taught to win and to divide everything into winners and losers. But winning is not the be all and end all that we were promised. Many competitive people laugh at remarks like “It’s just a game.” or “Winning isn’t everything.” and answer back with “Winning is the only game.” or “Winning is the only thing.” They tell us that history never remembers the losers but that is only true to a degree for sometimes, even if rarely, histories are also written by those who did not win. One example is the eye-opening book, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, where the myth of the cowboys, cavalry, and white guys always being the “good guys” is so shattered.

The desire to be always first, fastest, strongest, best – always better than all the rest, is one of ego’s finest tools for alienating our brothers and sisters. Young Joseph, favorite son of his father, Jacob, later called Israel, won no friends among his brothers sharing his dreams in which he was always first and best. The nation of Israel has not won many fans either with its, “God’s chosen people” shtick. Teacher’s pets are seldom all that popular whether they acheive that status by “kissing up” or making A’s on all the tests and ruining the grade curve for everyone else.

Winning is nice but sometimes it is even nicer to let the other person win and most ideal is the win/win senario. Sadly even “win/win” has become a tool of unscrupulous salesmen trying to “best” customers and clients in sales gimmicks that promise but do not deliver. As the Peter, Paul, and Mary song says, “When will we ever learn?” Winning is not everything and true love
does not even keep score. Loving not winning is the only real thing and everything. It isn’t about, “Winning and winning till we get sick of winning.” But, it is all about giving and loving till everyone feels it.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White