WE ALL WANT TO BE WINNERS

Let's face it: We all want to be winners.
Don't misunderstand me. I know some people don't want there to be any losers, only winners. That's why they want children to play games that always end in a "tie," no matter what the real score. That's the purpose behind so many self-esteem efforts at all points in life -- to make us all feel like a winner, at least about something. So what if your home life is a mess? Go to Las Vegas and come back a winner! So what if your career is in the tank, drive our car and you'll be a winner!
And on and so on.
The problem is, we're all losers. Even those we think have it made, they're losers. The rich and famous? Heck, they's lost more than we could ever realize -- their privacy, their souls, their pride. The poor? Well, they've lost their pride, their self-esteem, their hopes, their dreams. Those of us in the middle? We've lost our hearts, our hopes, our wants, our dreams, our lives.
And regardless of where you stand on the social, economic scale, you'll keep losing -- love, loved ones, time and, eventually, life itself. This is a game none of us ever wins. We all lose in the end.
Life, I think, is all about losing and learning how to accept and live with it. We all know people who, no matter how badly life is going, always find some good to hold on to. Even as they lose, they keep trying to see themselves as winners. Then there are those who win more than they lose and yet still focus solely on what they have lost.
Some, though, are realists, or at least as realistic as possible, and seem to see the balance in life, to measure carefully the wins and losses and keep a tally that keeps them grounded all while not quite giving up hope on that rare chance that maybe, just maybe, they might wind up winning more than they will lose.
I, unfortunately, do not count myself in their number. For I find that, day by damning day, life seems to offer more losses than wins and the wins are small and unimportant while the losses are significant and emotionally weighted.
The loss of loved ones.
The loss of the love of my life.
The loss of dreams.
The loss of hope.
It would be delusional at this point to think life can offer anything resembling winning. It would be insane to think there is any way to turn this around, that life will, suddenly, give back all that it has taken. It would be utter madness to think this tide will ever turn and float me back to a place where all of this can change.
It would be crazy to think I could win even a small victory in this battle against time and its losses.
We all want to be winners. But wanting simply is not enough.