Game Plan

With nowhere else to go,

    I gazed out the window,

It had been a calm morning,

    A gentle breeze now blowing.

In the school nearby, rang a bell,

    Change of periods, it did foretell,

Tots spilled onto the ground adjoining,

    2 groups of them, their teacher was forming.

Arrange in a line both groups she did,

    Handed a ball out to each first kid,

Rules of the game, she began to explain,

    Dribble to the end and come back again.

With a whistle blow, she triggered the race,

    The 2 first kids started at a slow pace,

The rest of the class, just stood austere,

    Until the teacher, prodded them to cheer.

Not every kid played in the manner same,

    Several different ways to play the game,

Some just had their intense focus on the ball,

    Some just revelled in the cheers of all.

Running with the ball, some tried to cheat,

    Others slowly got tired under the heat.

One kid actually helped his ‘opponent’,

    Helping more than winning, to him it meant.

I couldn’t help but see,

    Many a striking similarity,

Between this trivial PT exercise,

    And this thing that we call Life.

Simple must’ve been the teacher’s goal,

    Keep the kids playing for an hour whole,

Teach them to get along and just have fun,

    For awhile be close to textbooks none.

But complicate it, some kids did well,

    Did everything, but learn to gel.

Were so busy travailing under the sun,

    Forgot all about goal number 1.

We too are in a ‘game’ on this sphere,

    There’s a reason why we all are here,

Once to live, and once to die,

    Then to this earth finally say goodbye.

How often do we actually try to find,

    The goal our divine Teacher had in mind,

When on this planet He ordained our birth,

    The purpose of life did we try to unearth?

Was it just for more money to earn,

    A bigger house, a fancier car to yearn?

Or to get our name on a cabin door,

    Or simply enjoy a few movies more?

Ain’t nothing wrong with the above desires,

    But be wary not to fall in materialistic mires,

The gift of life is meant for so much more,

    Learn to love others, before leaving life’s shore.

When did we forget what truly matters in life,

    And ended up in a rat-race full of strife,

When did we become unnecessarily competitive,

    Trying so hard to win, that we forgot to live.

Learn to love others, this we must,

    Before our bodies return back to dust.

Choose to touch hearts, help another soul,

    In Life’s game, this is the goal.

At the end when we stand before the One,

    Won’t matter how many prizes we’ve won,

Matters neither which place we’ve come,

    But whether in loving, like Him we’ve become.