And now to the question of the meaning of our imperfections and of our particular imbalances: let us not forget that each individual person is imperfect, but each is imperfect in a different way, each ‘in his own way’. And imperfect as he is, he is uniquely imperfect. So, expressed in a positive way, he becomes somehow irreplaceable, unable to be represented by anyone else, unexchangeable.*
Viktor Frankl

The world, to a guide, is larger than themselves and their personal story. Guides care. … The guide passes down more than wisdom; they pass down compassion and empathy. They have been defeated themselves and have climbed back.; they know how it feels to be tempted by helplessness. They have been misunderstood, so they seek to understand. They have been abandoned, so they are loyal.**
Donald Miller

The competitors of the reality game show
The Traitors
line themselves up as they arrive on set according to how
successful they believe they will be.
Spoiler alert –
The two placing themselves at the bottom end were
instantly sent home.
We might say,
The ultimate finite game, being
an exclusive group of people, working towards
a goal, and adhering to the game’s rules, as
the two sent home painfully found out.
We all play in finite games, but Life is
an infinite game, being about
as many as possible being included for as long as possible, and,
When the rules get in the way, then
lay with the rules.
If Viktor Frankl is correct,
If we’re all irreplaceable, even in our
imperfections, then it’s not about being
first or last, but focusing on being
most fully ourselves:
But it is not only the uniqueness of an individual life as a whole
that gives it importance,
it is also the uniqueness of every day, every hour, every moment
that represents something that loads our existence
with the weight of a terrible and yet
beautiful responsibility.*
When we enter into the possibility of this,
We become trusted guides to others.

*Viktor Frankl’s Yes to Life;
**Donald Miller’s Hero On a Mission.