Our communities have advanced tendencies to classify some people as 'winners,' while others are labelled as 'losers,' which makes sense. Aside from the categorisation's obvious unfairness, the fundamental issue is the assumption that life could be viewed as a single, unitary race in which all competitors could be neatly ranked from highest to lowest. The more perplexing and complex truth is that life is truly made up of a series of races that take place at the same time, on very diverse terrain, with various cups and medals on the line.
Of course, there are races for money, fame, and status, which draw a large number of spectators and receive the majority of media attention in various social circles. There are, however, races that evaluate other forms of accomplishment that are worthy of respect. In the race of frustration, there is a competition to see who can keep their cool the longest. There is a competition to see who can be the nicest to youngsters. There is a competition to see who is the best at friendship. There are competitions based on how attentive someone is to the evening sky or how well they can enjoy fall delicacies.
Despite our excitement for classifying competitors into neat ranks, one remarkable aspect about life's multi-race event is that no one can ever win in every type of competition. Furthermore, success in one type of race appears to work against one's chances in others. Winning at being ruthlessly successful in business, for example, does not appear to be linked to any true ability to appreciate the sky or take pleasure in figs. Those who excel at earning popularity are handicapped when it comes to compete in a race that assesses the ability to be patient with children who are thoughtful but insecure.
We don't appear to be able to win at everything. Those who appear to be winning all the awards and are hailed as superhuman athletes of life cannot, on closer inspection, be winning in any sense. They'll almost certainly make a complete mess of some of the less well-known or prestigious races they've entered; in certain areas of the stadium, they'll be falling over, tripping up, complaining loudly about track conditions, and perhaps sourly dismissing the entire event as pointless and unworthy of participation.
If you can't be a winner in every situation, you can't be a loser in every situation, either. When we fail in certain races in life's mille-athlon, we still have plenty of opportunity to practise and improve our strength so that we can win in others. We may never be able to compete in the race for fame, honour, or money again, but the race for kindness, friendship, and forgiveness is still open to us. We might even win a race for simply enjoying one's own company or sleeping soundly and without concern for several hours.
There is no such thing as a winner or loser in the traditional sense. There is only one person who has succeeded in some areas while failing in others. To go even farther, someone whose ability for winning in one type of race entails that they will almost certainly fail in others - and vice versa.
We never completely fail at life. When we make mistakes in the world and feel dejected and isolated, the universe is simply providing us with an exceptional opportunity to begin the training that will enable us to become star athletes in less well-known but equally important races, such as keeping a sense of humour, showing gratitude, forgiving, appreciating, letting go - and making do. These are the high roads where individuals who have 'failed' might ultimately, correctly, and redemptively learn to triumph.