Mindless Games and Mindful Games - This Coast and Beyond

    I went to Atlantic City last weekend. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had never been there before; I was happy to see what some of the talk was about. It is a bit of Vegas, a bit of Long Beach, or Orange County. The boardwalk was fun and had easy access to a lot of beaches. 

    We had good food, we had good conversations. We went into some casinos, and it definitely had a Vegas feel. Gamblers, all the games, some restaurants, and all the people. The people.

    I watched and observed many, many than I expected to see, more crowded than I thought that they would be. I smelled the tobacco, then I saw the smokers. I thought, "multiple vices at the same time." That is me judging. I am judging people in this post. Buckle up, I guess. To use the words of my daughter in her letter in Germany.

    People pushing their money into the slots, the one-armed bandits, not most of them smoking cigarettes. Pull, pull, pull. 

    Mindless. That is what hit me. Mindless gaming.

    Not roulette, nor blackjack, nor poker. Not games where there is much calculating. Right? Is there calculation or thinking in slot machines, or is it truly mindless?

    I do a lot of somewhat mindless things, like watch some endless sports games, or endless news cycles, to include national pundits and local junk and stuff, comedians, certain movies and television shows, some of which have no really great redeeming value, but can be quite mindless. 

    I play chess online, which sounds sophisticated to some, but I know my brain can be stunted and much less than thinking good or right, or well enough to win. Sometimes when I do win, it is more by luck. Not a credit to higher analytic thinking, but just playing by proper principles and getting lucky or having the opponent mess up. But yes, there is some thinking involved.

    My mom liked to play blackjack a lot, and that requires some thinking, calculating, strategy, higher level brain crunching to win. The slots? Is there a formula or pattern to win?

    Pardon my ignorance, but all I see it mindlessness.

    Pull, pull, pull. Money in, some money out, money and monies in.

    How many thousands were doing it that Saturday? How many other places were people around the world doing mindless things? Some is only playing, some is working, some is watching mindless entertainments.

    I stand accused and judge myself guilty, much of the time.

    How do God's creatures spend their time? How do we go about our days and nights?

    How mindful are we? How mindful should we be?

    How many billions pull and pull and let our money go down the slots?

    Most of the planet works and scraps just to put food on the table.

    And then there is the rest of us.

    I want to be mindful for the workers, those that struggle. 

    Can we be more mindful than mindless? 

    I want it to be so.