Life is a Pinball game
I've always had a fondness for pinball machines. They evoke memories of childhood nights spent in the small town café with my family, embodying an era when electronics and analog mechanisms intertwined, and the thrill of a game wasn't something you carried in your pocket. It's easy to romanticize the past—perhaps our long-term memory is evolution's way of letting us live in a fantasy of a bygone era that wasn't as great as we remember.
During a particularly challenging week, one where I found little motivation to write, I ended up in an exotic place by the river, in the middle of nowhere, having a caipirinha with old friends. There, I encountered a pinball machine. Nostalgia beckoned. I had to play.
It was the moment the ball rolled down toward the flippers that I saw a metaphor unfold before me. Bear with me, for I am a sucker for a good metaphor. Right there, in front of me, was life.
1 - You Know You're Going to Lose
This might sound like a depressing thought, but believe me, it's not. You're aware that you will lose eventually. You can't play forever. And yet, this knowledge doesn't detract from the fun of the game. On the contrary, it enhances it. Knowing that at some point you're going to lose makes you savor the game even more. And when the ball narrowly misses the right flipper, I can hear you think, "Not this time!"
2 - Sometimes It's Unfair
Again, this might seem like a bleak outlook, but it's a simple truth. You could be at the top of your game, ready for anything, and then the ball hits a bumper, changes trajectory slightly, and bam, you lose. It leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Yet, you accept it. You might get frustrated, but you tell yourself there was nothing you could do about that ball. It was impossible to save. Perhaps there's a lesson here.
3 - It's Okay to Try Again, But There's a Limited Number of Tries
You can't dwell on the balls you still have to play. They shouldn't exist in your mind. What matters is the ball you're playing now, the one you're trying to hit that target with at the top. But when you fail, the reminder of the remaining balls comes back, a constant nudge that it's okay to try again, but too many failures can lead to disaster.
4 - Hitting Some Targets Is Hard
You're doing everything right. You hit the ball at the right angle, with perfect timing. And yet, it's as if physics itself is against you. Why didn't it go in? Last time, the exact same move worked! You realize that even if you're doing everything right, sometimes hitting that target is hard. But there's only one way to succeed: keep trying.
5 - Sometimes You Have to Risk Something
It might be more prudent to keep the ball moving slowly, or to hit the buttons in a semi-random pattern just to prevent the ball from going down the drain. But then there's that risky shot, the one that sends the ball flying in unpredictable ways. It's dangerous. It could make you lose everything. But the points it could earn you make it worth at least one attempt.
6 - In the End, You Walk Away with a Smile on Your Face
Unless you're exceptionally skilled at the game, you might leave the machine without breaking into the top 10 of the best scores. Maybe you won't even achieve a quarter of the highest score ever recorded on that machine. But does it really matter? Was getting the highest score truly your goal? Not really. What matters is the fun you had. And that's what you'll remember.
It's remarkable what one coin and a machine can teach you about life.