That's interesting, how we can take a simple game, joyful in its simplicity, and make it competitive. Most interesting! One of the things I loved about serving a church in the metro DC area was exploring this question of whether the church could be a haven for people to get out of the competitive rat race, and find their true worth in that kind of community. Thanks for this, as Advent begins.
A member of the first church I served used to call it the "Fairfaxedness." And I'm sure you know the "it" very well (and it's not just in Fairfax County!).
MaryAnn, thank you so much for sharing with such honesty and vulnerability. Much of what you wrote resonated with me. My prayer is that we find a place of quiet refreshment where we can simply be.
I play the wordle with my spouse along with connections. I didn't even know there was a bot. I will try to forget about its existence as it sounds like it would suck a lot of joy out of our morning ritual 😏
I remember in the heyday of Wordle, a story about someone who realized her elderly loved one had gone missing or had some kind of medical emergency (?) because she didn't receive the usual morning text update of the person's score. Wordle saves lives!
Everything you said is so on target! I started Wordle early on, before the NYT purchase, and loved its simplicity. And then the Bot started chiding and scolding. And after a couple of months of comparison anxiety, I said, good-bye, Bot! Wordle instantly became fun again.
I have had the same gripes about the Wordlebot. Today it groused that another word would have been a better choice for my second guess, when the one I chose narrowed the possibilities down from 36 to 1, which I found for my third try.
Thanks for turning this mundane frustration into a beautiful reflection on the ways that human beings, are unexpected and mysterious and precious in God's sight.
Good morning my dear child. I am a child of the creator and I do admit I do not know much about the word wordle or bot ! I think they are computer terms. Anyway, my creator is very forgiving of my foibles and gets sad when I don't follow what I've been taught. Yet, I am forgiven, I woke up today with I think my faculties about me and I will begin again.
Wordle is a word game through the New York Times, and Wordlebot is a program that analyzes your performance and kills your joy 😊
Anne Lamott has a line about the inner critic being like a high school principal who never knows your name but is always leafing unhappily through your files. Like that... haha
Thank goodness we always get to begin again, Pat! I'll be drinking some of your tea this morning.
This might be your best column ever. But then, this is kind of like me picking a favorite child or grandchild of mine.💜
That's interesting, how we can take a simple game, joyful in its simplicity, and make it competitive. Most interesting! One of the things I loved about serving a church in the metro DC area was exploring this question of whether the church could be a haven for people to get out of the competitive rat race, and find their true worth in that kind of community. Thanks for this, as Advent begins.
A member of the first church I served used to call it the "Fairfaxedness." And I'm sure you know the "it" very well (and it's not just in Fairfax County!).
MaryAnn, thank you so much for sharing with such honesty and vulnerability. Much of what you wrote resonated with me. My prayer is that we find a place of quiet refreshment where we can simply be.
It's a good prayer.
I love all of this! Thanks for your honest words to start this Advent Season.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Christine!
For more on Wordle and how we play... you ADIEU folks should do what makes you happy!
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/17/upshot/wordle-bot-year-in-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G00.ioWP.5bsCN3p6EwnC&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Another writer who writes along these lines... grateful for KJ. https://kjramseywrites.substack.com/p/those-who-sow-in-tears
I play the wordle with my spouse along with connections. I didn't even know there was a bot. I will try to forget about its existence as it sounds like it would suck a lot of joy out of our morning ritual 😏
But I might check it . . . occasionally. Just to stay grounded!! ;)
I have 5 quite different groups I share wordles (and connections) with. A joyful way stay in touch.
I remember in the heyday of Wordle, a story about someone who realized her elderly loved one had gone missing or had some kind of medical emergency (?) because she didn't receive the usual morning text update of the person's score. Wordle saves lives!
That is a reason for one of my connections!
Everything you said is so on target! I started Wordle early on, before the NYT purchase, and loved its simplicity. And then the Bot started chiding and scolding. And after a couple of months of comparison anxiety, I said, good-bye, Bot! Wordle instantly became fun again.
Yes... I do like seeing how many words I eliminated, wish I could figure out how to see that data without the "commentary"
I have had the same gripes about the Wordlebot. Today it groused that another word would have been a better choice for my second guess, when the one I chose narrowed the possibilities down from 36 to 1, which I found for my third try.
Thanks for turning this mundane frustration into a beautiful reflection on the ways that human beings, are unexpected and mysterious and precious in God's sight.
And I also got it in 3 today :-)
Yeah, that move is particularly jerky! LOL.
Thanks for reading.
Good morning my dear child. I am a child of the creator and I do admit I do not know much about the word wordle or bot ! I think they are computer terms. Anyway, my creator is very forgiving of my foibles and gets sad when I don't follow what I've been taught. Yet, I am forgiven, I woke up today with I think my faculties about me and I will begin again.
Wordle is a word game through the New York Times, and Wordlebot is a program that analyzes your performance and kills your joy 😊
Anne Lamott has a line about the inner critic being like a high school principal who never knows your name but is always leafing unhappily through your files. Like that... haha
Thank goodness we always get to begin again, Pat! I'll be drinking some of your tea this morning.