House of Cards

A house of cards is a delicate structure. It is comprised of strategically placed, ornately decorated cards of various suits and numerical values. The strength and integrity of the structure is solely dependent upon how the elements lean and support each other. The value of each is an inconsequential factor in where it is positioned.   A higher card at the foundation will in no measure ensure success.  Building the house of cards takes skill, a steady hand, and above all the ability to slowly, methodically and patiently stack, rest and balance the cards.  Success is an impressive tower of a seemingly floating structure – a masterfully crafted house of cards. Failure is collapse and scattered suits – hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds strewn all over the table.  What do you suppose attracts one to attempt the task of building a house of cards?

Some would say it is just a card game, so to speak, something to do indoors on a rainy day.   That seems all too simple. A house of cards or rather building a house of cards has its rewards.  It is in the accomplishment and the satisfaction that one has managed a difficult task.  It is in the knowing that one has committed to something, an unimportant task but still one with something to show for it.  It is in the comfort that one is able to exhibit patience and plod on against the odds as the prize slowly reveals itself.  The wonderful thing about the house of cards is that at the end of the undertaking there is a reward – a thing of awe and beauty...and the knowledge that it is yours, and only yours to admire or destroy.