July 17, 2025

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Understanding the Game

Steve Gwisdalla

Understanding the Game

By Steve Gwisdalla

My friends, in the Tribe of Up, we seek to create, discover, and promote all things up. We are not interested in game playing (unless it is cornhole, euchre, or dirty marbles…Shout out to you Chuck Hopkins). We do not care about things that polarize. We seek to advocate for more joy whenever we can and wherever we are. We choose kindness.

Is it just me, or does it seem people, organizations, groups, and even the media increasingly are demanding we choose their side or else? Let me just jump right into this. I choose the or else.

I choose to listen with an open mind.

I choose to weigh choices based on facts.

I can like parts of your arguments and dislike other parts.

When it comes to these games, I simply choose not to play. Let me say that again.

I simply choose not to play.

I like playing card games with my family. Family game nights are sacred in our home. My almost 16-year-old loves it as much as my wife, and I do. We listen to music, have snacks and play euchre, no peek, and a card game we learned in a book of games we bought years ago, The Village Idiot. Fun, fun game. We love a marble and card combo game we learned years ago by our dear friends Chuck and Ashley Hopkins called Dirty Marbles. It is a lot like the board games Aggravation or Sorry but with a twist. I love watching my son play baseball and soccer. Those are the games I enjoy.

Seeing who can yell the loudest about their political leanings, which end of the world scenario is most likely, or which companies we should boycott are not games I enjoy playing at all. I simply choose not to play. Watching my son play goalkeeper in a State Cup finals game in Saginaw this summer? Loved it. What do you think of Trump? I simply choose not to play. My son pitched for his travel baseball team last night. Loved it. What do you think of Biden? I simply choose not to play.

See where I am going with this? I know what is going on in the world. I am plugged in just enough to know what the state of our world is. In fact, it is important not to have our heads in the sand. Knowing what is going on is knowing where to help. And is help ever needed out there these days. How can we help you may ask? Here is an uncomplicated way to start.

Be kind and with purpose. Ask for nothing in return for your kindness and let it be in multiple ways. Donating to local groups or agencies, or national ones. Be kind to a stranger. Put your phone, TV remote, or laptop down when your kids want to talk to you. Kindness is a state of mind as much as a series of actions. Allow yourselves to let kindness in. When you let it into your soul, it occupies real estate in your soul previously owned by some of those polarizing games. Choose who owns the real estate of your soul. I am not simply talking about spirituality. While I personally have a strong and robust faith, kindness wears many hats. Spiritual or secular, kindness is what makes us human. Being kind is my favorite game. A close second is seeing my partner turn over the Jack of hearts when I am holding a handful of red cards while playing euchre. Pick it up!

Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner, Vice President of Kindness, Director of Development for Dirty Marbles and an proponent of joy advocation at Better Place Consulting, a success, life, and career coaching organization. Reach out to him at [email protected].

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UPCOMING EVENTS