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This is called "Jack and the Zen of Pinball" as so described by Colin.

I played it for a billion years yesterday and I'm about to do it again. I learned a lot the whole time. Before I go into this, allow me to give you a general metaphor for your theoretical journey through the pinball experience.

First, it's like you're walking up to a mountain (That's the pinball machine.) When you first play you begin to climb it. It's hard because it's uphill (you're unexperienced at the game), but as you ascend it gets a little better after a while (It gets less steep). Then eventually you'll reach the top. There, you can see the green pastures of good fun. You're over the trecherous, expensive, and not-that-fun side, and now it's downhill. You walk down it and it's easier and you're getting better. Then it's even easier when you're in the green pastures. The grass is tall so you can't see the ocean in front of you, but yet it's pleasant. When you're good enough for it to be cheap and fun, you're walking through the pastures. I can make one dollar last one hour. I'm in the pastures. Eventually you'll reach the beach where you can't go any further. At this point, you're so good, you can't get any better (Or go any further into the ocean). Then again, you could, but it's an endless ocean and since you're super bored with the game, it's hard to do. Plus, the waves against you represent other stuff you have to or you'd rather do. So if you're decent, you don't go in because it's dumb. But there's still something left. You can happily walk along the beach; and since the ocean is there, it's fun. Plus you're so far (good) that it's fun the whole time. Walking along this beach is the equivalent of playing different pinball machines. You can only have the fun of walking along if you can find a new one; otherwise you just start wading into the ocean dumbly again, because it's boring. It's boring because you have so much control over the game. I mean, you'd be nailing whatever you want whenever you want. It's really fun to be really good but when you're godly it's boring. Then again, you can swim in the ocean if you choose to try to set a record. Many have done so, so you can join them by doing the obnoxious, but there's a reward to doing really well/going really far. Then when you play all the machines, you hit a cliff wall of doom that is completely unpassable. Luckily you can still go backwards and stuff, playing other machines, but it's not as good anymore. When you stop playing, your little man in this place dies. He sleeps as long as you're going to play again.

Anyways here's what I learned about as far as real-life metaphors yesterday.

Random exists. Random exists in your life, but you don't have to leave it up to random. Through deliberate, mindful acts, you can make your reality better. Mind that this takes effort to do, although you still get good rewards.

People talk about how random life is and they imply that luck has a play in it. Well, you can mess up and luck can save you, or you can mess up and your luck can fail you. Since stuff is random it can be good or bad. Thing is, you don't have to leave it up to that. You can make it much better. The random is only good half the time. In order to be good you must transcend this to get to the goodness, achieved with effort and experience; while keeping a focused mind-set.

This way, the numbers will look good. You will be effective and do well. It doesn't necessarily matter, but you'll do well this way. Also to do well you must cling obnoxiously to it as if every little thing were life itself. This way will lead you to effectiveness, and maybe happiness, but there are other factors involved. If you're not doing the right thing to begin with, you're still doing the wrong thing.

I have many more of these random things, but maybe I'll meditate on them and write them down later.