Which game encapsulates our experience of life? Chess is a good game but backgammon is better. Backgammon has an element of chance like life itself. As the poet said, even the best plans can go wrong. A smart backgammon player thinks ahead about all the possible rolls of the dice. Which move gives the best position if the dice go this way or that? In backgammon, you battle against the randomness of the dice as much as your opponent.
Some think backgammon is just luck from one game to the next. But matches are many games long. With the doubling cube, the better player will win the match even after losing some single games. Like Napoleon beating a general despite losing some battles.
Life goes on like that. The dice won’t always roll your way. Make your plans knowing chance can disrupt them. Look at your position and the possibilities ahead – how the universe might mess with you next. Then make your moves. Even if you lose today, there’s another day to try again.
When facing the uncertainties of life, I often consult the I Ching. The ancient Book of Changes reveals insights through chance that crystallise into 64 hexagrams. I toss the coins or if I feel in a more meditative mood I shuffle the yarrow stalks. The resulting hexagram offers wisdom for my situation. If I’m sensitive enough to such meaningful coincidences, I may gain a more appropriate strategy. The I Ching helps prepare me for how fortune’s dice may tumble. I try to follow its advice to better navigate life’s changing tides.
Thank you for visiting Journeys and Star Gazing. Here there's stories of my various journeys, some inner but mostly outer; photos, song lyrics, poems, astrological readings and interpretations, I Ching speculations, quotes from people I admire and some cool graphics. There are reflections and archival material on various human rights campaigns I have been involved in over the years. With these, some have a "Star Gazing" interpretive filter. 
Journeys and Star Gazing 