Ball In Hand

Recently, my friends and I have taken to playing pool every Monday and Thursday night at TDU. It's an interesting game to play (and for those of us like me who never did well in Geometry and/or Trigonometry, it's a challenge). We're not very competitive; and truth be told, none of us are really that good (well... Lauren's a beast, as are Spencer and Logan... maybe it's me who just sucks at this game). It's just a nice way to blow off some stress and have fun.

It's interesting, though, if you look at the game of pool in detail... do more than scratch the surface. See, each time you hit the cue ball, generally speaking, you hit another ball, which could hit a couple of more balls. The entire game is cause and effect. If X occurs, then Y will happen.

Now, what's interesting is if you apply it to real life. See, I think we fail to realize that our actions are that cue ball. We are the billiards player, lining up the shot. There are several different factors affecting our decision as to which ball we hit with the cue ball, such as location of the cue ball, location of the ball we want to hit, and what game we're playing. In the end, though, we hit the cue ball, making our decision, and ultimately changing the fate of someone else.

Sound confusing?

Yeah, I thought so too until I thought about it some more.

See, I think we fail to realize that our decisions affect more than one person. How we live our lives and make our decisions affect people on the outside, too... people like friends and family, or even strangers that we may not know. Just like that billiards player lines up the shot and hits the cue ball, thus affecting the other balls on the table and players, our decisions help progress our lives but also have repercussions outside of ourselves.

When my friends and I play, we have a rule called "ball in hand." Basically, when the person shooting fails to hit a ball, scratches, or hits the wrong ball, the person after them gets to take the cue ball and set it anywhere on the table. I challenge you to be that player who's followed the person who's scratched. How will your actions affect those around you? What consequences, positive or negative, will they have?

The ball's in your hand.

Make your shot.