James Carse

There was a man who created a system. A system that can explain how life is being played out right in front of our eyes. How can we understand the reality in terms of play and understand the true meaning of existence?

I don't know why this is not as popular as it should be. Maybe it is too complicated to understand. Maybe the readers of the current generation do not have the patience to make this work. Maybe we don't believe in a reality as James has described.

But I have made it a point to experiment and verify it myself. And so far, this book has never let me down.

The book makes one and only one point. And that point is repeated throughout the book in the form of different examples. James has derived a theory of life from this one simple idea - 'Whoever must play, cannot play'. That means whoever is forced to do something cannot do that thing.

He is not saying that whoever is forced can choose not to do that thing. He is saying there is only one aspect of life where there is no choice, which is if you are forced to do something, you are INCAPABLE of doing that thing.

If it doesn't come from your heart, you just cannot do it.

Now you can say that a lot of people seem to be doing what they are forced to do. We do shitty jobs, we endure shitty relationships, we suffer shitty products.

But according to James, if we are doing something, that means we are choosing to do it. That means there is some value that we derive from it one way or another. If we are not able to see any value, we will not accept it. And it might even mean accepting death.

James has a particularly poetic style where he makes his point elegantly in a comparative way. The overall feel of his writing is light, like a feather tickling the deepest part of your brain and your being.

He has written many books during his lifetime. Some of the most noteworthy ones that I had found were:

• The Silence of God
• Breakfast at the Victory
• The Religious Case against Belief
• Death and Existence.

But this blog is dedicated to the most of important book he has ever written:

Finite and Infinite Games

I will be posting the analysis of that book once in a while so that it becomes easier to understand his system.

Also, I am drawing inspiration from this book for my school and whatever I am exploring in life. I will keep posting about it as well so that I can show the practical importance of his ideas.

I wish I could have met James when he was alive. I only found him after his death. He is my father I never had.