play the game

In order to do well in any profession we are told we have to learn how to "play the game." What does that even mean. If you are really serious about what you want to do that might seem like you would be taking away the validity of what you do. I've always had a problem with this statement and if the truth were told that would be one of the reasons I dropped out of teaching. Instead of finding something innocent and worth while I found a world wrought with tension and politics. Because of this I was spooked, in turn I walked from a game and a profession that I loved. What exactly is this idea of a game within society infrastructure? is it really a game or just an expression?
The other day I was watching the movie "The Lords of Dogtown." For those of you who don't know this is the story of some young boys who end up becoming legendary skateboarders and absolutely change the face of the sport. They set the tone for what the sport became. Personally I don't think this was their goal at the beginning of thier fascination with skateboarding. I think they found something that was new, interesting, and compelling to them. What ensued after they found it was a passion that spurred them further and further as they invented new moves and ideas. What they found the further they went into this endeavor was that at the highest level of the sport was politics and tension. All of a sudden the purity and innocence of the sport had vanished. All the things that endeared them to the sport and the people they had met along the way at some point had gotten twisted by greed. Just like anything else there were good sides and bad sides to this new level. Those that knew the game survived, those that didn't faded from the lime light. The thing that inspired me about the movie was the characters that actually played the game of corporate skating did not lose their flare and love for what they did. That's the main reason they were successful. They had vision, passion, and wisdom to light their path.
A friend of mine who has been teaching for three years reminds of this. His name is Greg, and he is the one that alerted me to the game side of teaching. At first I believed that anyone who would think of teaching as a game must be a cold, self- serving, and calculating individual, but the more I see Greg in his element as a teacher the more I see those ideas disproven right in front of my eyes. He loves children and he loves to teach, that is what spurs him on. Everyone who is considered noteworthy at what they do have the same thing in common. They have that passion and wisdom within the realm of the game. The game presents itself in everything, but if one can see past the politics into the greater good and the deeper meaning then one can accomplish much. Greg has shown me that I don't have to be part of the game, but I must be mindful of it. Within this knowledge and wisdom only then can I enter into the meat and heart of what we do and that is the impressionable minds and hearts of young people and that's where I long to be.