What playing chess taught me about life ?

When I was in Karachi, I had lot of time to do great things. I used to watch Chess championships. Chess.com is fascinating app for chess lovers. I bought the yearly subscription for it, and then I bought an encyclopedia of great chess moves, I followed historical matches and how strategic our minds can become. It requires certain precision, calculation and strategy, it requires patience, emotional intelligence and humility as person to be able to be competent chess player, with my fascination of chess I bought a decent chess board. Wooden classic chess board. I invested by own 2000 Rs from pocket money to buy that chess set. It was beautiful set. 

My cousin Aariz, who was five years old took interest in chess. One day, I taught him to play chess. within days, he was playing a better game than me. He's natural genius, since 2016, I have not been able to win a single game from my five-year-old cousin. That's embarrassing. Now, we have app, we play a three-day game and me dealing with my life, my PhD and my family shuffle with the chess moves he throughs at me through the online app we have both have. 

Chess is all about calculating the moves of the opponents. If you cannot think beyond yourself and understand the struggles of other people, you can never be relevant to them. You can offer them something when you know what they need, a solace, sympathy, prayer or soothing words or life lesson. 

Chess teaches you that no matter how hard you try, you might lose your queen, somedays the king has to be lingered lonely battles in life without support system, and you have to prepare in life for the worst days in times of crises- financial or health wise. 

Chess teaches you that you can never accomplish anything great in life until you learn to have patience and clarity in life, you can only have clarity when you learn to have patience, the patience that somehow your scheme will work out, and you will survive even though if you keep losing your allies, your friends and loved ones. 

Chess teaches you to have faith, you have to keep moving on even though you don't understand life. You will have your good days and you will have your bad days, in good days you have to have gratitude, and in bad days you need to have patience. 

Chess teaches you that anger doesn't solve anything in life, it will always end up in embarrassment and resentment. You are angry because you don't control the game, and the funny thing about life is no one even has control on the game of life. we all are juggling with different pieces life throws at us. 

Chess teaches you to be the gladiator of your life, my favorite childhood movie was gladiator, the roman player who would fight for honor, dignity and prestige. It teaches us to fight for great things in life, for principles, integrity, truth and justice. 

I got so curious with the chess that I saw three-person playing chess as well, they had separate board, I asked the carpenter to design me the board for three-person chess. It is not about chess actually; it is about the idea of life. How our God test us with different situations and circumstances, and how we respond to it. 

Are we humble and graceful in dealing with the crisis? Is our mind intact in understanding the ground reality? and do we recognize the patterns to seek God in life? Life is all about letting it go, having it all and letting it go. It's like winning a lottery and yet going bankrupt at the end of the day. There's no self-control, we have too many emotions to have a sense of control... people with childlike curiosities like me can never have control, I will be amazed, mesmerized and shocked at the life's eventualities and would wonder how small and how vulnerable I am at the great divine scheme of lord, and I often find myself uncomfortable at the narcissistic certainty of scientists to be able to say with profound confidence. 

I think some people are there for the experimentations while other are like poets, enjoying the wonderful and magnificent creatures of Lord. This is just one planet out of billions of planets in the universe, and to be able to see eternal and majestic beauty of this planet you'd require a lifetime. 

Just let life surprise you with the pain, with the blessings, with the joy and with the failure it throws at you, be you, with your authenticity, be truthful and pray for profound understanding of our crises and ability to love everyone around without judgement, that is what we call human being!