Ben Greenfield presents a brief philosophical monologue likening life to a chessboard controlled by a divine player: people are like chess pieces placed providentially to interact with you for specific reasons. He describes living through this lens and gives examples (feeling prompted to contact someone, noticing a fallen book) as signals to act.
Think about this. God likes to use people like pieces on a chessboard. He moves you forward two squares so that knight up in the right corner can swoop down to you in an L and bless your day. Well, the queen off to your left presents you with a challenge that grows your character. And the pawn you sidled up beside cries out to you for help on a project. Just imagine if every person you came across every day were a piece on the chessboard of life. That means that they were meant to be where they were when you came across them on the square that they were on. And you came across them for a very specific, preordained, providential reason. No coincidences. Master of chess controlling the game. Now, I live my life through that lens. For example, if somebody randomly pops into my head, it isn't just random. I'm supposed to call them or text them to check in. If a book falls from my shelf and lands on the floor by my feet, I pay attention to that and I open the book. Might be nothing, Might be something. Usually it's something.
The Solution to Aging Might Be Closer Than Anyone Realizes - With Ben Goertzel
