So, I used to think it was cute how my boyfriend could play computer games hours on end.
It gave me time to study, work on some art, it was awesome. He wasn’t going out and flirting with other girls, but he was play-flirting with his man friends to laugh at their uncomfortable responses.
Then I thought it was annoying. It was like, uhm, hello, I’d like to just sit next to you on that couch when I get home, can we do that?
Ever the solution man, he brings his laptop to the coffee table “How’s that?” better…. ish.
or
“let’s find a game you like to play!” we found a few, beat them, and then had to find more. I’m picky, I don’t like shooting, and I’m definitely a street fighter champ (in the way you could press all the buttons really fast in the arcade and make magical combos to beat your 7 year old cousin that’s addicted to mariokart and zelda… in 1998)
I have accepted that he plays games for fun, like I stalk sparkly jewelry online. It’s his hobby… cool.
BUT THEN!
I found this meme and it was all clear. Video games are a great way of learning perseverance. Granted in life, when you die, you’re done… but whenever I play, I get super frustrated when I die, like I didn’t even have a fighting chance. I wasn’t allowed to play video games as a kid because I think my dad wanted to play and because my parents wanted me to have different play time experiences. I mean, I could have sat in my room gluing things for hours on Saturdays… or any day of the week really… They knew that I would figure it all out better if I didn’t play these types of games.
Now I’m a grown up and I don’t have the patience for them, (because my parents preferred my tape kleptomania) I want to create something with my hands, I don’t see the value (for me!!) to play these games, but I do now see the life applications!
When life gets hard, it just means you are on the edge of glory! (THANKS GAGA!) It means, if you can stick through this, you’re golden. The hard part, though, is deciding if what you’re working so hard on is really what you want to do. Are you working against nature and the universe because your ego wants a huge paycheck and money? Or are you working at something because it feels good while you do it… therefore spending your life doing what you love, right here, right now, vs. working so hard for that never-promised “someday”.
I was just talking to a girlfriend about boys and how frustrating it is to go through relationships, and NSE’s and feel like a failure. And I’m all, I learned something incredible about myself through every break up. What I wanted and what I didn’t want in a partner, and in myself! Every time things get hard in a relationship or in life, we need to look at it like fighting the boss fight. As soon as you beat that scary demon that has thousands of hit points to your 100, life is easy peasy!
(And this is because video games, comics, sci fi all fall into FANTASY for me…. That’s how my manfriend and I show up at a comic convention dressed like crew members from a really old british show about space…)
It’s fighting the demons that come up… and lately, as part of my anxiety arsenal, I’ve been quoting Labyrinth, “You have no power over me”… The main character has been running around a labyrinth for 12+ hrs to find her stolen baby brother. She’s exhausted, has been drugged with psychadelics, and finally finds the Goblin King to get the baby. He’s sweet talking her, finally she get’s it. This is all an illusion, and she has the power to make it all better-she always has (OMG LIKE THE WIZARD OF OZ!!- no wonder both of these movies are my faves…. they are all about illusion and the power of the mind!)
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered,
I have fought my way here
To the castle beyond the Goblin City,
To take back the child that you have stolen,
For my will is as strong as yours,
And my kingdom is as great.
You have no power over me.
Long story short, when life throws you a curve ball, just remember that making it to the other side either makes you a conqueror or a survivor. It depends what you are fighting for. And as I said on FB this morning after finding out some crazy stuff, “it’s okay to give up on something if it’s not actually what you want.”
i.e. your parents are pressuring you… girlfriend, boyfriend… OR you want to impress everyone. When you try to impress people, you’re going about it the wrong way.
Do what it is that you love, and no one will question you.
and
You will have spent your life doing things you loved, and won’t regret a minute.
