THE JACK OF SPADES

Pick of the Week

Each week, we pick a playing card at random and let its associations guide our thoughts on play.

Ed. 12

March 23, 2026

This week’s pick: the Jack of Spades

One of the most beautiful byproducts of play is what the Jack of Spades represents: communication.

While seemingly simple (after all, we do use our voices everyday) anyone who’s been alive long enough to make sense of this writing understands that communication—helping others understand what we really want/need—is f*cking complex.

With so many tools, why do so many of us struggle to communicate and ultimately, connect?

It might have to do with the many ways we can speak to each other, a majority of which don’t require us to be in the same room, much less the same state, country or continent.

The Jack possesses cleverness, mental agility, an adaptability that suggests a lack of open communication doesn’t stem from abundant resources, but that we can’t share what we ourselves don’t know.

To put our highest intellect to use, to make actionable decisions and discern strategically we must tell the truth faster—our truth, that is.

The good news is that our truths are easily discovered through play. Play encourages us to move quickly without judgement because there is no right/wrong, no one way to play.

Free from social scripts, we’re then clearly able to ask ourselves: do I like this? No? If not, why not? The truth emerges.

And the sooner our truths emerge, the sooner our words can become clear messengers. We no longer aim into the open sky hoping we’ll hit our target.