Though life is not a game, we spend our lives playing games of one kind or another. Every time we find ourselves in a new situation, we have to learn the rules of engagement. We have to learn what constitutes 'winning' or 'losing' before we can make any kind of useful judgement about how our own quest for success is faring. What rules must you adhere to now? And which are you safe to ignore? Some delicate judgements must be made but one key law must not be forgotten. You owe it to yourself to relax.
Once, games were for children. Adults, at best, played sedate rounds of cards. But then came phones and apps. And now almost everyone, everywhere, drags their fingers over pieces of glass, shooting monsters, escaping from mazes or running through imaginary landscapes. Our lives may be full of games. But life itself is surely not a game. There is only one rule that you consider yourself to be bound by today. You must find a way to make a potentially tense situation more enjoyable. That's a game you can win! 
When people find themselves trying to drop habits or break old ingrained behaviour patterns, they don't really make much progress if they keep telling themselves (and all their friends) that they have been forced into this choice due to pressure of circumstance. Whenever we feel as though we are being deprived of a pleasure, we inevitably resent this, even if inwardly we know that it is all for our own good. Decisions made in the spirit of positive inspiration are invariably easier to keep to. Just keep that in mind today.
Why do roses have thorns? Presumably, it is to afford them at least some protection from those who might otherwise too easily pick them. These flowers, as far as we know, don't actively and deliberately grow in the ground hoping that they will end up in a vase on someone's table. Sometimes, we all encounter a sharp side to a person - or a situation - and feel a little upset or offended. Why is it there? What have we done to deserve such spikiness? There are good reasons for all in your life that may now seem unfair.
Not every top hat contains a rabbit. Not every silk scarf hides a dove. Indeed, the vast majority of such items of menswear most definitely don't. Only the ones that belong to illusionists may sometimes, under some circumstances, house such creatures. But that doesn't mean that we should rule out all possibility of ever encountering doves and rabbits in scarves and hats. Sometimes, just sometimes, magical unexpected things really do happen. 
 Murphy's Law insists that, 'If anything can go wrong, it will.' Sods Law informs us that when it does go wrong, it will probably go wrong in the most annoying way. And by these somewhat depressing laws, too many of us lead our lives.Who do you think you are? Okay. Now hold that thought a moment. Let's have another question. Who does someone else think you are? Now, let's have a third question. Who do they think they are to think that they know who you are? And who do you think you are, to think you know who they must think they are, to think that they know who you are? These may not be the only questions in your life now, that can't be easily answered. But they are surely amongst the most annoying. Perhaps it is time to stop asking them.