OK, so it's by the parking lot, but I DID walk two hours before returning here... We all need breaks to be able to function as human beings. Be it a 1 minute timeout in the handball game, a 5 minute coffee break, a 1 hour lunch, 2 hours of solitude beneath the trees, a weekend away from work or a months holiday in the sun, breaks are a necessity for us. Because of how our minds and bodies work, we tend to dig ourselves into holes where there are no longer any know exit. That is, until we start to think about something else for a while.
Putting life into perspective, I think it's called.
I can't say anymore that I take a break from virtual worlds, because they have become my breaks. A year ago, that was not the case, and I sometimes miss the exciting feeling of thinking about SL day and night, logging on every time I had a possibility to slip away from my life, but at the same time I fear it.
Night Flower recently returned from a 17 month break from SL. Her pen being as sharp as it ever was, she continues to write very personal from her life. In her NWN blogpost, she writes:
"The wiser, truer part of me takes Night's hand, and settles in to reminisce about old times, wrapped in the warm glow of a virtual sunset."
Sometimes a break need to be really long to work. Welcome back to our world Night; I hope you will be happy:-)
Btw, I really disagree with Soror Nishi in her post where she "...denounce the illusory myth of the Integrated Personality". She says "For one person to demand that the other give up using, say, the phone as it is destroying their lives is clearly rubbish, why would SL be any different?".
I say that virtual worlds ARE different from almost any other media or entertainment. The illusion of reality it creates can be so powerful (partly because lot's of it are not illusions, there are real people behind the keys also!) that it has the strength to tear your person in two.
When you feel that your life is just a shadow of what it could be because you are mentally away most of the time, you do need to take steps to realign yourselves with your shadow. You need to be one and whole to be happy.
Aw, enough crap:-) Next post I ponder the question "What if Linden Lab was a car rental agency?"
Till then: Be happy!
/me playing with my shadow
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2 comments:
The idea that SL can tear your personality in two is an illusion because you are already many faceted. You play many different roles in your everyday life, and having a hobby or outside interest, no matter how real it is, does not in itself tear you in two, that is an illusion.
We all have to work to find a balance in our lives but to blame the game, be it SL, WoW, the phone or the TV is a mistake in my opinion.
Thanks for the comment soror!
When it comes to blame, I do agree with you. SL and other virtual worlds are not to blame for ones inability to find a balance in our lives. I just think that SL can be so powerful that it feels like it is tearing you apart. Short of serious mental illnesses I guess you can define your "I" as whole regardless of how it feels, but as Night expresses it, in practice you are torn apart.
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