Before making important decisions, the Ancients would always consult an oracle, usually a priestess acting as a medium with the gods. Based on her prophecy, many resolutions would be approved, deferred or entirely cancelled.
In Ancient Greece, Cassandra famously warned the Greeks about the Trojan Horse and foresaw the destruction of Troy; unfortunately nobody believed her.
They should have.
I believe in seers and I would be happy to seek and follow their advice anytime, but today alas, it is difficult to find a bona fide oracle. Due to an acute shortage of virgin priestesses, many people are unable to consult them and rush into unwinnable situations.
This rambling preamble to let you know that some days you should not even get out of bed. No matter what you will try, you will fail.
Some people call this “getting up on the wrong side of the bed”, but the truth is that on this day the Gods resolved not to favor you.
I have experienced this situation many times.
I have lost many pétanque games 0/13 against people who were not that great and I have also won games 13/0 against people who were better than me.
Yesterday, in the finals of the Night Fall League my partner (Jacques Gautier) and I won three games in a row, by a wide margin.
But when you win a game by an extremely wide margin, it does not mean that you are an extraordinary gifted player; it simply means that you were lucky, or much more likely that the Gods smiled on you.
Yesterday was such a day. Not matter how good our opponents, we could not lose.
We all have such days, but we never know ahead of time what’s going to happen. Hence the need for a good, certified oracle.
It is far better to consult the Gods (all of them) than blindly venture into an unwinnable situation.
If you lose, don’t feel bad. You might have done something to offend the divinities. It is fairly easy to remedy.
Gods (like politicians) are fond of offerings. Deposit some of their favorite food (or gold) in front of their altar and you might be forgiven.
Chocolate éclairs (or bullions) work well.
Alain