Ready Player One

Would you like to play a game?
Toronto, ON
July 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

I've never been much of a pinball wizard. Or even a lesser-wizard.

But pinball machines remain objects of fascination all the same. Beneath the glass lies a world governed by forces we largely understand - gravity and technology, mostly - influenced by other forces (like flippers, nudges, and uncontrolled profanity) that are similarly known.

But once that ball is in play, the way the game evolves is largely out of our control. It might careen off a bumper and hit the bonus button just so. Or it might make a beeline for the dead zone right between the flippers before you so much as have a chance to touch it.

We can wish for a high score all we want, but nothing we do, however heroic, can ensure the outcome we want.

Kinda sounds like life, doesn't it?

We may know the rules of the game, the layout of the playground, the tricks available to us. But even then, there's a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that virtually guarantees we'll never be able to fully script the story that unfolds as soon as we release the spring-loaded plunger and send the ball on its way.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't play, though. Because what's life without a bit of uncertainty? And would the high scores feel as good to us if they were pre-ordained? Shouldn't we all spend at least some of our time on this planet wondering against wonder what comes next?

Maybe this is my way of convincing myself that uncertainty isn't necessarily a universally dark force. Maybe there are some shades of grey in between that merit exploration.

In the meantime, while everyone mulls the possibilities, I'll be over here trying to keep the silver ball in play.

I'll never be a wizard, but the game draws me in all the same.

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