Daniel Stange de Acatl
Posted on February 5, 2026
Puzzle is a better game than chess. The conflicts of our homes and friendships are the conflicts of the nation. We always have to keep in mind that our viewpoint is unique but everyone else is looking at the same picture. With today’s technical world we are seeing infinitely more of reality that we previously could. It might give us an opinion on a great number of issues but the way we view them can differ as much as the games chess and puzzle. In the game of chess, you see the issue as an opponent and develop a strategy to outmaneuver the other to complete the game. Win-lose or draw. In puzzle, you have to fit all the pieces together and complete the image. The end game of puzzle is decided before the game begins, because you find a box with an image that you want to complete. The completion of them differs so that with chess, you don’t know how the end will result and puzzle can be a solitary game or multi-player but always ends with same design, unless pieces get lost and you can’t complete it. You might also place some of the puzzle pieces incorrectly and finished image gets distorted.
This is what seems to happen so often in system designs. They are playing chess with our game of puzzle. Every society requires basic components that allows for peaceful coexistence. We have shelter, food security, medical care and education as the principal four-base systems, and then political or religious organization can be built upon them. Most people take a historic view that pretends for religious or political systems having the base foundation of society, because they are inherent upon the people that began to build the civilization. Yet, we can see very easily today how that religious ideas shift when we look at the MAGA Christians violating the principals of the lord savior Jesus’s teachings. We might also be witnessing the shift of democracy to autocracy. And theocracies be damned, if you think a Chicano like me is going to sit by and watch this shift passively. It could be argued that Chicanos have been the catalyst of the most of modern American society.
The one thing we Chicanos know is that we don’t live standing on the sidelines.
Many of us agree that a good-functioning society is well planned, but great planners look at the past for their design and we end up repeating the same issues. People may bring up cycles, like the cycle of empires or the business cycles or lack of bicycles. What they have is an illusion of time in its’ appearance of morning, noon, evening, and night. But today’s world is a 7-11 store, functioning 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Older societies followed the sundial, but we use digital clocks and high-speed internets, and a high proportion of people are functioning on high time medications. So, how about we start designing a system of dual functionality. With one system for the daytime and one system for the night.
It would require a keen awareness and alignment with the astral motions of the planet. Because the duration of the day and night will fluctuate every year in the solar annual cycle. In June, the sun doesn’t set until 8pm but in December it’s at 5pm. We already adjust for daylight savings, but we resist the kind of change in perception that could benefit our greater good theory. People are fickle that way. We say change is difficult, but the reality is that everything is changing all the time. The slow change goes unnoticed so the people who stay aware of those changes are blessed. Or maybe ignorance is bliss?
The point I want to make is that whoever you are, reading this article, the ability to change is within yourself. If you want to change the world, change the way you look at it. This includes looking at the way you play the game of life. Sure, there are many more games than chess and puzzles. The objectives begin when you decide to play. That decision is made every morning when you wake up and brush your teeth. The only other choice might be, how will you play the game of life? Of if you prefer not to think of life as a game you can say, how will I live my life today? Live to win, live to lose; live to not win, or live to not lose? Most Chicanos like to say we live to survive. Or survive to live another day.
The one thing we Chicanos know is that we don’t live standing on the sidelines. When you make decisions each day about what little changes you could focus on. Or perhaps it’s just dealing with the changes that life is throwing at you? Think about the approach that you are taking. Are you facing the challenge in conflict or competition so that you see gains and losses? Or could your process be collective and focused on what is missing and how do things fit together? How is the picture of your life reflected in the pieces of the game tokens or the image of the finished product? How much input did you have in creating the game and developing the rules of play? These answers and other mysterious questions are awaiting us all in the next article of Chante Chicano.
But lastly, just let me remind us all of Mayan wisdom; En Lak Etch. Tu eres mi otro yo. What I do to you, I do to myself. I hope you seek out peaceful and productive methods in all your endeavors. Remember you have energy that can never be destroyed. The things you give attention to, and where you invest your time and efforts are incredibly more important than we can see. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and look forward to sharing some other new perspectives next week.
Danny Stange de Acatl is a Denver Native and Cultural activist that serves his community on various levels.
