I have a surfboard. It’s an In The Eye, 6 footer, with fixed fins, and I got it in a game of chance.


In The Eye surfboard by Natural Art

I was betting that the guy who crashed into my car out on that isolated beach road didn’t have adequate car insurance so I negotiated his surfboard as a marker. Turns out I was right.

Ignoring his scornful expression as he assessed the damage to both cars, (and, I was to later to find out, his lack of both car insurance and a bank account) I followed my intuition by asking for the board. I reasoned how he responded to my request would determine the level of his coverage. He gave me the board willingly. And while his coverage had indeed lapsed only two days prior, his insurance company honored the claim and fixed my car.

Sometimes you just have to play the game by your own rules. It’s not necessarily about asking for forgiveness after the fact, it’s about creating a new way, forging your own path within the confines of mindfulness.

Path to the ocean on Hatteras Island, NC. Turn around and you’ll see The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.

Equally important is to ignore criticism especially if it’s not constructive.

When I decided to leave my home of nearly 25 years and go explore someplace unknown, unfamiliar, and do it all alone, some people criticized me, discouraged me, and tried to frighten me into staying. But that’s not how you win. You don’t win by playing your game by someone else’s rules. You make your own rules.

And you play to win.

A while back I happened upon a documentary on race car driver Dale Earnhardt. America’s darling, Earnhardt proved that ordinary, blue collar folks could play at life and win big.

Someone interviewed, whether it was friend or competitor I don’t remember, said,

“Dale played the game by his rules and he won every game.”

I was so stuck by the forthrightness of that statement that I jotted it down and read it everyday for a good long time. To the quote I added the following words,

“Play Dale’s way.”

And I did. I do. With mindful consciousness, I play my game my way. I tolerate only respectful, like minded people who walk in love and respect. And I do the same in return.

Today I invite you to be bold in your own game of life and win your game by playing according to your own rules.

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Copyright 2009 Diana Taylor, Pug At The Beach
Photo credit: Diana Taylor

For copy & paste:
http://www.surfintheeye.com/intheeye/ (In The Eye blog)
http://www.outerbanks.org/accommodations/hatteras_island/index.asp (Hatteras Island info)
http://www.graveyardoftheatlantic.com/ )Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum)
http://www.daleearnhardtinc.com/content/home.aspx (Dale Earnhardt site)

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