The Flip Side verses the Blind Side & Child’s play game of Tug of War

You wanna play? You wanna go? Bring it on?!

How DID we humans used to solve our problems? There is no denying strife and its existence. It exists. Big and small. How DID we resolves the disputes of our day(s). Back in the good ole days, the ancient times, of say, the late ‘90’s early 2,000’s.

Seems like a lifetime ago. When civility attempted existence. Outside. Inside. Now. Everything seems so Upside down. In many ways, shapes and forms.

Have we become so, bored and detached from reason and logic we have resorted to well, this? Are we blind, unable to take a punch, or closing our eyes to reality. Whatever reality is nowadays. We are losing our grip on reality.

There once was a time when kids went outside to: Play. Explore, Surf, Swim, Run and Jump and Play.

Back in the good ole days, when there used to be recess, PE and playground time on the “jungle gym.”. Yes. you heard correctly. A jungle gym. And all it meant was a safe place to go to learn how to climb, problem solve, and fall down without having to call in the national guard or call a state of emergency, ground people, and all planes, trains and automobiles.

In order to “keep them in line”.

Picking a side was not akin to a death sentence of isolation, or the need to lawyer up. Back in the good ole days, a call from the School Principal usually was a bad phone call. It meant something bad. Nowadays, there are no calls being made. Only constant calling out the fact that we still cannot squeeze blood from a turnip. To fix the strife. Even if we try to and squeeze to our hearts content.

There is a boat load of calling out all our foibles though. In the interest of “fairness.” Even the playground bully knows that life is not fair. And is happy to play with you without cutting you down to size. Really! Playground rules call for a level playing field.

IE. Pick a side. Any side. Just please. Pick a side. And then argue the merits of the meanings as if the listeners are not all idiots. That is a start. Otherwise the tug is jammed and knotted with zero hope of un jamming. We all use the arguments that we owe it to the “children”.

Well. What we do owe to the children. Sanity. For starters. A sense that, hey, we do “got this.” Fairly certain most children are unconcerned with a picture of the fashionable ways another country dresses, eats croissants and chooses life.

There used to be a cute little playground game called “ Tug of War.” Do you remember ever playing the game? The instructions went something like: Two folks were “Captains”. They chose “sides”. To make “teams” . The two teams stood on opposite sides of a mud pit. Yep.. A mud pit. The two teams were on opposite sides of the rope. The teams together gripped the thick rope, held tightly onto either side of the rope. There was a flag tied in the rope’s middle. The flag was perfectly positioned above the mud pit so the team who wheeled the stronger defense would pull the weaker team into the mud pit.

It was a glorious game.

There was no “time” for transitioning. Either in or out. Of the mud pit. The weaker links of each team were strategically positioned along the rope to compensate for the weakness. But it was still a team effort.

It was a glorious game.

It taught team building, equality, strength training, and resulted in a lesson in the best way to do laundry for some. There were no hard feelings. No need to go crying foul of this being owed, or that being taken. It was a lesson. A life lesson.

Perhaps best a lesson as to how to out-smart your opponent. While still on your feet, on solid ground. But that is why the tug of war was child’s play. Kids figure it out. What to do. How to do it. Their best way. Before adulting lessons are taught.

No one said it was going to be easy. But, why are we all making it near to impossible to get along? Where have all the diplomats gone? In the mud pit? Maybe.

Karma can be a fickle you know what. But without reason and constant emergencies, where has meaning gone? If one can read more than a paragraph nowadays, apparently meaning is whatever one puts on their croissant while discussing safety and sanctity of life. All in open court. In a one-liner.

In their precious formative years, if a child, a young child did not know about the tragedies of suicide, murder, and “health caring”, they probably do now.

Is it “kudos” to the influencers for raising awareness with a quick one liner? I hope not.

Picture this. A parent and their child playing tug of war with a flip phone. Cannot even compete with the thoughts, words and images imprinted on their minds, while trying to grab the thoughts, words and images before they become imprinted on their minds.

I can’t even believe we’re arguing over this.

I am guessing the playground bully is just itching to get back to fair play. Really. He learned the hard way that life is not fair and hey, consider him the best mentor to teach you as well. He knows a thing or two about bobbing and weaving, pushing and pulling and just the perfect moment to let the rope go, so your opponent gets pulled into the,

Mud pit.

At least the bully has some hard won street cred and is willing to share. Denial is a weak way to get the job done. A great way to inflate an ego though. With the one- liners running as rampant as they currently are, it is no wonder the foundation being built right now is built on weakness, instability and chaos.

Individuals are mysteriously born with unique abilities and capabilities. Unless of course, you listen to the current debate of influentials tapping choice, and safety and “Me, Me, Me, I, I, I” think this is bad while eating my croissant and fashionably expressing myself.

I don’t have an answer, any answers. I do, however, have a play date with the local playground bully in hopes he will mentor me in the best ways to become:

Stronger, Independent, Generous. How to stay out of the mud pit. And if necessary, some laundry tips.

Thank you for sharing!