Life and Tetris

I like finding metaphors for life in what seems like absurd places. I was laying in bed playing Tetris as I floated off to sleep last night, and the following analogy struck me.

Life is like a game of Tetris. The objecct in both is to use the space and the resources most effectively and efficiently to achieve results. Like in Tetris, in life (at least this is my life goal), the goals  is to get the most meaning out of it, fitting as many tetris pieces (goals / accomplishments) into a finite space.

Huge gaping holes left when pieces don’t line up correctly remind me of wasted opportunities, things left undone and unsaid, caused by mistakes that we make. We all make mistakes, and they are absolutely human and a huge part of learning, but you must realize that you can still attempt to fill gaping holes afterwards.  I do not believe in do-overs, and neither does life allow it. But you can fill these holes with knowledge gained from the experience and the mistakes that you made. You can go back and say the things that were left unsaid, and attempt to  do the things that were left undone, but only if it makes sense at a later point. Some black holes will forever remain black holes.

Like a game of Tetris, the pace starts out slow in the begining and speeds up to an almost-frenetic pace, depending on what level you get to. Like in life, it speeds up at a precise time when one would give anything to have time go slower.

In life, and in Tetris, it’s all about those perfect moments when everything fits harmoniously with minimum black space. Those are the moments of bliss, when your work is aligned with your passion, and the people in your life are an organic fit to your grand vision of life. Then the mistakes made and the gaping holes of the past don’t matter anymore.