You are not a wild card, beloveds. You are My ace. You are the card I hold in My hand. All of My descendants are the ace I hold.

You have seen how people who play poker take the game very seriously. Even when the players play for matchsticks, it becomes serious. The players, even when nothing is at stake, enter into the game and become serious players as if everything were at stake, as if their very life were at stake. They find that they don’t want to lose. It isn’t the matchsticks they mind losing, yet they feel charged to win. Win what? Win the game. They desire strongly that the cards they are dealt, or may deal to themselves, beat out someone else’s cards. So the players get wrapped up in winning. What does winning really have to do with the players?

The card game is played in layers, as it were. You know it’s only a game, and yet you are earnest, and so you watch yourself and the others win or lose. You are a watcher who watches other watchers. In a way, you are like nested Russian dolls, one inside the other, like layers of yourself contained within another layer. You watch what is going on, and you watch yourself who watches yourself. And so you are multi-layered and know that you are, and, as you know that a game is only a game, you’ve still just got to win. You’ve got to win, or else. Else what? What is the else? Win or lose, the game gets over, and you fold your cards and go home.

Perhaps you think you are favored by God when you get a winning hand. Perhaps you think you are not favored by God when you don’t get a winning hand.

You see the parallel between life and a poker hand, am I right?

Whatever cards you get, know, once and for all, that you are already favored. Of course, you love winning streaks. They’re fun, and losing streaks aren’t so much fun. You don’t like losing streaks much at all. Perhaps you value yourself more when you win and you value yourself less when you lose. Winning is comfort. Not winning is discomfort.

Would that you would let go of the concept of winning or losing. Would that you would play a game of cards and know, really know, that you are not playing for high stakes. You are playing for fun. Why would your fun be dependent upon winning? Win or lose, have fun. The game is really an occasion for camaraderie. We can call the game an excuse to be together, as if you need an excuse. Everyone knows that playing solitaire, even winning every time, isn’t great fun. Sharing consciousnesses is great fun. In life, you play a game of consciousness, beloveds.

When it comes to winning or losing, the spoilsport is ego. Ego likes to gum up the works. Ego wins either way. Ego is happy when you win, and ego has glee when you don’t. Ego makes out all right either way. Hey, no longer be ego’s pawn. Be in the game but not of the game.

Play in neutral, beloveds.

Winning is a myth. Losing is too. What can you lose when you are bigger than life itself? What can you lose but ego? There is nothing else for you to lose. When ego leaves, suffering and anything related go out the door along with ego. All ego’s pals follow along with ego the way hoods trail after the mob boss.