God and a Pair of Dice...

"God does not play dice with the Universe," Einstein used to say.

I know I'm nobody to contradict a mind of such magnitude, but if there is one thing I've discovered in my late twenties:

...it's that life is random as hell.

It has a real soft spot for gambling and that whole scene. It plays dice, roulette, cards—all kinds of bets—and it likes for you to have fun right along with her.

Confession: that is the thing I’ve done least during a good portion of my "short life" (short, some would say). So much seriousness led me to think, on more than one occasion, about how long life was starting to feel.

Beyond trying to measure it in longevity terms... Einstein has a point within his laws and his deterministic POVs. Not so much about rolling the dice, but rather that time is... *yes, finish the sentence.*

If a Colombian singer-songwriter (Shakira, indeed) learned how to steal seconds from time (reference in Spanish to one of her most famous songs, “Antología”) and music is the one art that never fails to make them dissolve with every song--

--another person in your country, or in Malaysia, could be living the longest 24 hours of their life while going through grief or something remotely similar.

In those situations, it does no good trying to mention that 24 hours doesn't define an entire lifetime.

If that’s how it feels… who are WE to question this?

Both extremes are part of experiencing the hourglass and its relativity in the flesh.

God and the Universe play dice a lot. In fact, I'd say they get together every day like a couple of old buddies who haven't seen each other in ages.

Instead of feeling like they're plotting against us at the gaming table, or feeling like we're losing to them with every new die that falls on the cloth.

Instead of passing on our turn, we should get involved in the chaos and throw the dice with them. Just have a good time in their company.

They would never bet against us if they knew we couldn't emerge victorious from every contest.

Those who don't know how to win, know even less about how to lose.

The person who never dares to sit at the table just to find out what might happen… can never truly lose.

– yours truly, V.