As a child, I delighted in playing “The Game of Life.” Lifting the lid from the box, I extracted and opened the gameboard—complete with a built-in spinner! A banker was chosen (usually not me, because math is not my friend), then I chose my car. That’s right—I got to plop myself into the driver’s seat of my own primary-colored auto. To be exact, “I” was a pink peg. Then I set off on the road trip of my life! First: would I go to college and incur debt, or start right away on a lower-paying job. College it was: it would be worth it. I loved navigating the twists and turns and unexpected roadblocks along the way. In time, I secured a blue husband peg, then some pink and blue peg children. I motored along to retirement: the player who retired with the most money won. But, honestly—motoring around the gameboard, drawing cards, and imaging my life as a grown-up, that was my win!
 
A few years ago, our Young Artists Club studied Milton Bradley. I researched Bradley’s life—a decent chap, it seems, who, even in times of hardship, provided for the needs of children. Remembering my delight in Bradley’s “The Game of Life,” I purchased one for our club meeting, where our children would then design their own gameboards.
 
I lifted the box lid, opened the game board, and became the banker (sigh). Our club members chose their cars, and we were off! Except, as soon as I started handing out money, my gut clenched. I was doling out money like it was the ultimate value. As the children motored around the board, my discomfort increased. Success, the good life, was measured in procuring a heteronormative family (mom, dad, 2 to 3 kids), and dying with more money than your friends. Not the values A Spacious Place stands for; not the values I hope for these children. (And, reading Mr. Bradley’s bio, neither were they his. He continued to donate toys and books to children despite personal financial loss.)
 
After playing “The Game of Life,” our club talked. What do we love? What do we hope for our lives? What matters most to us?
 
So, I vote we create our own “Game of Life” gameboard. Let’s plan it with walking trails, so we can delight in nature, and with public transportation, so that everyone can get where they need to go. Let’s bank on lasting values—kindness, empathy, compassion, courage, justice—rather than on cash. Let’s make pegs in every color of the rainbow and let players choose what color feels like them. Let’s discover along the way many ways to be family. Let’s discover, as well, that we are enough simply as ourselves. Let’s have spaces where we gather in community and savor the moment we are in.
 
What if we make our lives, not about what I can acquire for myself, but what I have the potential to be, and what I have to give? What if we love our neighbors as ourselves?
 
We choose each day in this game of life what we live for, what we stand for. As we move into 2025, who and what do we want to be?
 
If you were to design a Game of Life gameboard, what would if look like? What are your hopes for your life? Share your thoughts at contact@aspaciousplace.com.