Games develop your imagination, they encourage creativity, socially they are unifying, they are essential simulation towards the experience of reality, and from this aspect, games are very positive. But a game can be also destructive: when it is being used as an escape system and when it is hiding the reality as it is; when it is taking over and not making space for the true reality; and it is functioning as if it is the exclusive reality.
The question about the games is bigger and wider: is life a game? That is, were we born into something fascinating, funny and amusing? (A game?), or were we born into an existential state of being? Wherein existence by itself is the issue? (Reality).
Many people search in their life what they call ‘living’: pleasure, interest, amusement, excitement and enthusiasm; something that is outside of the dull daily existence, the routine, monotone predictable, colorless – existence.
This is why we find ourselves in strange (to say the least) relationships, in which there is no unified connection and harmony of two souls, but a product of finding a mutual game that is created by two game partners.
More about the issue of “games people play “: in a book by Dr. Eric Berne . Berne defined games as:
A game is an ongoing series of complementary ulterior transactions progressing to a well-defined, predictable outcome. Descriptively, it is a recurring set of transactions… wi th a concealed motivation… or gimmick.
The book clearly presented everyday examples of the ways in which human beings are caught up in the games they play. Berne gave these games memorable titles such as “Now I’ve Got You, You Son of a Bitch”, “Wooden Leg”, “Why Don’t You… Yes, But…”, and “Let’s You and Him Fight”.
At times, perhaps by virtue of a rough experience, the game mask becomes slit, and then we might discover to our amazement the game pattern that is underneath the existing relationship. We discover that the relationship we thought to be solid and stable are actually a superficial set of game rituals with laws and orders, with permanent losers and winners.
But even after we become aware of that, the game mask revives itself again and immerges again in a surprising speed and we will never know that we once knew about the games we play…
Through the eyes of those that are playing interpersonal games (flirting, family, friendship, love, betrayal etc. etc.)
The reality appears to be old and boring.
Escaping this reality into the land of games is not only an adventurous escapism. This is a fleet of fear that stem out of the absence of the ability to face the existence state of being as it is: A state of existence where the main actors are: nothingness, the absurd and the horror (that are well represented by getting old and dying) – much too terrifying for the ‘children’ that are eager to be amused; and this are running towards gimmicks games.
The truth is that at the stimulation level of game playing, is pale and boring compering to the naked reality that is beating hard underneath the camouflage of the game. Everyone that is being exposed to the existential reality, receives its immense intensity, and managed to internalize it – gets filled up with vitality, a vital force of life energy that cannot be compared at all to the joy of the games of human beings. In order to depart from the false security of games, and to go through the reality -you have to do something else, something out of the ordinary: you have to open your eyes, shake it of…
You have to wake up!!!!
A short story:
The man who loved dragons. (When games meets reality).
Once upon a time there was a man who loved dragons. He had pictures of dragons on every wall of his house. He had dragon curtains, a dragon carpet, even a dragon duvet. When he slept at night in his dragon pyjamas he’d dream of dragons. When in the office he wore a dragon tie and had a dragon screensaver on his computer which sat neatly next to his dragon mouse mat. In his spare time he loved to paint pictures of dragons, read stories about dragons or watch carefully selected films from his vast collection of dragon related paraphernalia.
The queen of the dragons got to hear about this man so thought she’d pay him a visit to say “Hi.” She flew to his village, landed outside his dragon shaped house and knocked on the door. The man opened the door and, on seeing a real dragon standing right in front of him, screamed and ran for the hills. The queen was confused and a little upset. When she returned to her kingdom she told her wise friend about the man. Her wise friend explained to her that this was a man who liked playing games with dragons but not dragons themselves!
Gabriel