Monday, June 12, 2006
When Words are not Enough
I'll admit that I've run out of time to write, at least on the same daily basis that I was doing before.
These days work ends too late, and re-minisce is too exhausted after work to write.
Or else work ends early, and re-minisce is too busy hitting the gym / swimming pool / getting a tan to write.
Or else work ends rather late (which is slightly less late than too late) and re-minisce comes home to his computer, and mmorgs. One of the simplest escapes from the mundanity of everyday life - fantasy. Having despatched too quickly of Terry Pratchett's Thud! I'm now cast adrift with very little to distract myself from the sheer inanity of daily living.
These days I've been playing Ultima VI Online. It's not aesthetically very pleasing with its dated 1980s bitmaps and there are no fancy 3d graphics or directx lighting effects. But it has that certain nostalgia-factor that characterizes an all-time hall of famer, that all RPG fans will cleave to as if by instinct, and a beautiful storyline. It also has an incredibly friendly community, and all in all... it's nice.
I've been meaning to write about something for a while though. Perhaps I haven't done, because I've been trying not to. Can anyone spot the pattern here? I, escapist.
*****
"Don't get involved."
As I watched the coming of the End, I couldn't help but feel saddened - who wouldn't be? There had been something magical there once, something special. Something involving Words. Something far from ordinary.
Two friends, two separate paths.
A friend, to me (and here, I emphasize me... the definition differs from person to person) isn't someone who dispenses gifts, or gives advice that someone wants to hear.
When trouble ails us, do we seek out friends who speak the truth, or people who reaffirm what we wish to hear? Perhaps we are all different, and have different needs and desires.
A friend, to me - listens.
Perhaps a fan listens too - but fans are blinded to certain truths and realities. Fans cannot see - or refuse to see the imperfections and flaws that are as much a part of ourselves as our strengths and aptitudes.
Friends, in contrast, acknowledge - and tolerate them.
Don't go and listen to me, and then to her, and try to change things.
I confess to doing the former.
Sometimes it is not the worth of the words themselves that are important as it is their simply being spoken. All people do deserve that right - that is true.
All people.
It would have taken a fool to be blind to the inevitability of it all.
Emotional bridges are burnt when people lose their inability to listen and to empathise with each other.
It's not a sin to be selfish... it's perfectly natural when the time comes. Who wants to see the other side of the coin, when one has seen it too many times, perhaps?
Sometimes, insight is a curse.
Yet sometimes... it takes two.
I listened, and I knew that there was nothing left to do - nothing left to change.
It saddened me, immensely.
I did not pass judgement... I will not take a stand. There was as much wrong in both of them, as there was right.
That is only natural.
And in the aftermath, I hope that I still have two friends I can still count as - friends. Perhaps now two separate friends, rather than the single entity you once were. And I wish you both well.
Heed not the thoughtless rants of your fans - or dissentors... after all, words are only words, and sometimes words are not enough...
These days work ends too late, and re-minisce is too exhausted after work to write.
Or else work ends early, and re-minisce is too busy hitting the gym / swimming pool / getting a tan to write.
Or else work ends rather late (which is slightly less late than too late) and re-minisce comes home to his computer, and mmorgs. One of the simplest escapes from the mundanity of everyday life - fantasy. Having despatched too quickly of Terry Pratchett's Thud! I'm now cast adrift with very little to distract myself from the sheer inanity of daily living.
These days I've been playing Ultima VI Online. It's not aesthetically very pleasing with its dated 1980s bitmaps and there are no fancy 3d graphics or directx lighting effects. But it has that certain nostalgia-factor that characterizes an all-time hall of famer, that all RPG fans will cleave to as if by instinct, and a beautiful storyline. It also has an incredibly friendly community, and all in all... it's nice.
I've been meaning to write about something for a while though. Perhaps I haven't done, because I've been trying not to. Can anyone spot the pattern here? I, escapist.
*****
"Don't get involved."
As I watched the coming of the End, I couldn't help but feel saddened - who wouldn't be? There had been something magical there once, something special. Something involving Words. Something far from ordinary.
Two friends, two separate paths.
A friend, to me (and here, I emphasize me... the definition differs from person to person) isn't someone who dispenses gifts, or gives advice that someone wants to hear.
When trouble ails us, do we seek out friends who speak the truth, or people who reaffirm what we wish to hear? Perhaps we are all different, and have different needs and desires.
A friend, to me - listens.
Perhaps a fan listens too - but fans are blinded to certain truths and realities. Fans cannot see - or refuse to see the imperfections and flaws that are as much a part of ourselves as our strengths and aptitudes.
Friends, in contrast, acknowledge - and tolerate them.
Don't go and listen to me, and then to her, and try to change things.
I confess to doing the former.
Sometimes it is not the worth of the words themselves that are important as it is their simply being spoken. All people do deserve that right - that is true.
All people.
It would have taken a fool to be blind to the inevitability of it all.
Emotional bridges are burnt when people lose their inability to listen and to empathise with each other.
It's not a sin to be selfish... it's perfectly natural when the time comes. Who wants to see the other side of the coin, when one has seen it too many times, perhaps?
Sometimes, insight is a curse.
Yet sometimes... it takes two.
I listened, and I knew that there was nothing left to do - nothing left to change.
It saddened me, immensely.
I did not pass judgement... I will not take a stand. There was as much wrong in both of them, as there was right.
That is only natural.
And in the aftermath, I hope that I still have two friends I can still count as - friends. Perhaps now two separate friends, rather than the single entity you once were. And I wish you both well.
Heed not the thoughtless rants of your fans - or dissentors... after all, words are only words, and sometimes words are not enough...
