For those of you who haven't a clue what World of Warcraft is, aka WoW, I've also provided 2 links to the game's website, one with definition, and the other their Homepage. A simple definition is it's an MMORPG...an acronym for a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game where thousands of players exist in the same game world at the same time.
My first idea for the name of this blog was "The Tao of WoW," and imagine my surprise when I was told the name was unavailable. I Google searched it, and came across a site that sells a book with that name. It is supposedly from an ancient text, deals with Tao thought, and is basically a guide to recognize Wow moments...follow your wow! I thought this was amusing, and perhaps a little serendipitous, because of how I originally began playing the game of WoW. So just for the fun of it I have provided a link to that site as well.
A little bit about me: By nature I am a philosopher, which means I ask a lot of probing questions, and look for a deeper meaning behind all things. This has a tendency to annoy the hell out of people at times, but I am that I am...yada yada. I am also a writer, which is double trouble, because being both a philosopher and writer means my observation skills are fine tuned. So much so I find it a challenge to even get away from myself. There is an observer, noticer, witness, whatever you desire to name it, within us all. Yet not all of us are aware of it. It is what lets us see ourselves semi objectively. If you notice you have a cold, well, what in you is noticing that about yourself? Is it the you that has the cold, or the you that is noticing you have a cold? How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? Take the red pill or the blue...your choice.
17 years ago my life took a turn toward the spiritual. I say spiritual, as opposed to religious. I'm not in any way knocking any religion. However, I personally find no use for organized religion. To me it's like trying to put God in a box, which is an impossibility, but man does give it a good try. I also don't quite fit in with the metaphysical, or New Age, line of thought. In fact, it's probably wise not to put me in any category, I'll most likely tip it over. This blog would be a good example of that.
I have had a love for anything scifi/fantasy since early childhood. So, in a way, it comes as no surprise to find myself suddenly immersed in the World of Warcraft. I was introduced to the game a year and a half ago, and before that I had never experienced an MMORPG. I had heard about them, of course, but I had never had the opportunity, nor the inclination for that matter, to play. Then my life literally fell apart. The change was traumatic and drastic, and I found myself physically, mentally, and emotionally battle scarred. Hopes and dreams were flushed down the toilet in the blink of an eye it seemed. I was lost, and couldn't even hear my own inner compass to help direct me. Enthusiasm for anything, that zest for life, seemed to have walked right out of my being. I felt numb, like the walking dead. I had no inner vision to guide me, or to move toward. This concerned me more than anything else. We must have vision to cart ourselves out of bed in the morning. Passion, enthusiasm or love for anything, automatically animates us, brings us to life.
Here is what I know, and this brings me back to the serendipity I mentioned earlier, it is important to have enthusiasm in life. I believe this is the "wow" the "Tao of Wow" is referring to. To find your heart's purpose is to follow what you are most enthusiastic about. Where is your passion? Steve Irwin found it in runnin' around like a crazy man in the Outback. He not only loved animals and nature, he had a passion for them, and his enthusiasm for his choice of work fairly exuded from his pores. There was no mistaking his passion, it's why we loved him. If you had to learn mathematics, ew, would you rather learn from the guy who loves it and brings enthusiasm to the lesson, or from the guy who speaks with a passionless monotone kind of voice that puts you to sleep because he has no enjoyment with what he does? I've experienced both, and indeed, learned more from the guy who had a love for math himself, and brought that love to the table.
When I was introduced to WoW, the game, lol, I found a spark of enthusiasm rise up within me. It was the first spark of life, animation or excitement, that I had felt in some time. I, being who I am, pondered this of course, and wondered if it was wise to go there with this game. I had heard all about it's addictive quality, blah blah, but I also still believed we must follow our enthusiasm, and had been on the lookout for anything that brought even a tiny spark of that magical quality within me. So I decided to follow my enthusiasm, my wow, lol, to see where it took me.
This blog is about that journey, within the game, and within myself, which you really can't separate. I've thought of it as a kind of WoW Therapy. I have fought my inner demons down, I have battled my fears, things within me that hindered my progress in life. Along the way I have met some truly delightful people who have given me laughter, insight, and have become real life friends who have helped see me through a difficult period in my life. I have run across old acquaintances and family members who play, and renewed and deepened my connection with them. If anything, the journey I have taken through this game has given me the courage to stand back up, and immerse myself back into the world, where before I desired nothing more than to crawl in a hole.
Enthusiasm has found its way up and out of me again. The love for a good story, philosophy, and writing is where it's at for me, and that is what I hope to bring to this table. Bon appetit!
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