Be Well

It is not a good idea to play poker when you feel physically ill. A body off balance is a mind off balance too. It's hard enough to be patient when healthy and strong and doubly difficult to do this when you're not up to par.

Let me tell you from first hand experience that when you're body would rather be resting and trying to restore itself, playing well is very hard to do. Opponents notice this and may target you as their prey. Even when they don't, you may lose patience because of your discomfort. The "is poker a sport or a game?" debate is over for me. It's definitely a sport because there is a crucial physical side to playing poker. It's hard to even check your hole cards "correctly" when you are not feeling well. I learned this while playing cards when my body was taking a physical nose dive. Wish I'd have saved my money by saying to myself "hey, hey, Jennifer you're sick, get outta here."

I'm sitting here, sick, with muscle cramps all over my body that are so bad that I had to take this whole week off of work because my body says so, not to mention my Doctor. It's given me a lot of time to THINK!!! I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Two months ago the "medical professionals" finally convinced me to do the RAI (Radio Active Iodine) which treats the thyroid with a low dose of radiation. When one's thyroid becomes under active though "hypo," one of the side effects can be...you guessed it, muscle cramps.

John Mayer sang something like this: "Someday I'll fly, someday I'll soar...while I'm figuring it out... (Na, Na, Na) waiting for my fuse to dry..." Do you get that, his fuse that needs to be lit to blast off is wet and he's waiting for it to dry. Lovely lyrics, a wet fuse is bad but that same fuse will dry and then blast off.

Don't forget that it's never over, ever, even when life gives you a bad beat and tilts you, it is not over, ever. Just wait for your fuse to dry. It will dry; you just gotta hold on and give yourself a chance and trust that God has you in the palm of his hand.

Don't play horrible starting cards because you're agitated. Your opponents want you to, so you can dig an even deeper hole for yourself and give up your money and your well being. The universe does not revolve around us and it will be just fine to wait for just the right moment to play or to put all of our chips into the pot. There's this famous painting of a chess game that has the devil sitting there with his devilish eyes and smirk that says "Checkmate." One day, a world champion chess player looks at it for several hours, going over every move. He concludes that the game's not over. The devil has not won because the king has one more move; one more out, if you will.

My friends, always remember that if you just trust and have faith, there is always one more move, that through faith and believing, not only do you have one more move but the king that flows through you will make that last move for you and YOU WILL WIN!

Until we meet again, stay positive even in life's darkest hour, be patient, slow down, call a time out and seek the light because only the light of goodness has the power to break through anything that holds you captive. And don't wait until you can't take it anymore before you go to the doctor. Bless you. Be well. Play well...