Who am I? What do I want from life?

These are questions that catch us off guard.

The movies on this theme are about trips without a plan.

Going wherever life takes you. And coming back to what you've always known.

Somehow, you are supposed to find the answers in the interim.

It seemed pointless - the kind of thing that people do when they're rich and parents are indulgent.

Today, I was listening to another similar experience being narrated.

When a few things clicked into place.

The person talking about doing things aimlessly. Without a routine.

Meeting people he would probably never meet again.

Eating food from a restaurant he'd probably never come back to.

Using sign language and maps to discover how to get to the next town, the next city

It's not about discovering the new sights and sounds.

As much as it is about surrender and living with uncertainty

You discover how tolerant you are of situations you can't control

Never knowing when things will go badly. Or fantastically well.

And doing it for months on end, so it doesn't scare you anymore.

Welcoming that experience is going against the grain.

Expanding your comfort zone to any place on earth. Or any situation.

3 word happy stories about 2020

On Twitter @MerielMyers asked 

Can you write a happy or positive story about 2020 in just 3 words?

And the answers went right across the spectrum of human emotion

"I'm still alive" was a constant

From the pessimistic "No, I can't"

To a pilot in a plane "My dog flew'

The birth of children brought joy "My new grandson"

The political "The government resigns"

To the poignant "Learned to breathe"

And the optimistic "Soon be 2021"

Or new possessions "Bought a Caravan"

A few spewed hate

Kids, cats, dogs and birds dominated

As if the world learned to find solace

In small things again

No overarching ambitions

No grand designs and dreams

The steady lapping of the waves of life

"I got married" said one

'God still wins' said another

Hope springs eternal " Someday, it'll end"

Or the watchful " Time slowed down"

A confession "Haven't needed mascara"

Little triumphs "I got published!"

The all embracing "All lives matter"

The simplest of all joys "Ate a doughnut"

Or the lazy "On the sofa"

And the light at the end of the tunnel

"I went camping"

A time when the ordinary became extraordinary

Can chess become hot online?

It's a game played in the mind.

With 90 minutes to make 40 moves. Two Pawns Fork. Rook double attacks. Discovered Double Check.

The grandmasters are held in reverential awe. 

And portrayed in positions resembling Rodin's Thinker.  Permanently lost in the game.

Given that watching chess is like seeing ice melt, no one thought it could become a spectator sport

And yet, thousands of people are watching on Twitch.tv

Behind this strange development is a top 10 US chess player called Nakamura.

He streams for around 30 hours a week and his games are attracting a dedicated audience.

The genius move was in playing chess with other game streamers who had a massive following.

Nakamura stacked the dice against himself by forgoing the use of the queen and playing blindfolded.

That's like Federer playing tennis with Messi with one hand tied behind his back

And it's attracting an audience that did not know the basics of chess.

The traditional chess masters are aghast. They believe it goes against the exalted traditions of the game.

But Nakamura couldn't be bothered as his grinning face graphic is superimposed on the Mona Lisa before the streaming begins

What's your take?

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