Why this inspired us
One of the oldest confessions in literature: a gambler who lost everything to the dice. Its advice is plain and human: tend your field, and be content with what it gives.
Explore a verse
Rig Veda 10.34.13
The reference printed on your card, and the idea behind it.
In its original context
Hymn 10.34 is often called the Gambler's Lament, and it is one of the most human poems in the Rig Veda. A man speaks about his addiction to dice, made from the nuts of a tall tree, which he says pull at him like magnets.
He describes what he has lost. His wife, who never quarrelled with him, has left him. His mother-in-law hates him. No one will lend him anything. Other men are now with his wife. Every time he swears he'll stop, the sound of the dice falling draws him back. He sees his family miserable, and still he goes.
Near the end, this verse brings the advice he has finally been given, by the god of the morning sun: don't play with dice; plough your field. Enjoy what you have, and value it highly. There are your cattle, gambler, and there is your wife. It is one of the oldest pieces of writing about addiction and about knowing what is enough.
Something to think about
How do we know when we have enough?
Our cards carry original, contemporary words inspired by ancient passages. They are not translations.
The Letterbox
Little letters, occasionally.
New cards, first looks and the odd kind word. Never more than we'd want to receive ourselves.