Done some more thinking...
Best friends!!
Spot on Ceri!
I have spent my weekend thinking about what Second Life really is. I have been talking to many ppl about their experiences. I can’t really get it out of my system. I mean all this pain and anxieties that I see in here. I had to go see what Linden Lab say about it. If you go to http://secondlife.com/whatis/ to see what SL is you find the following text…
“Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.”
They are right! It’s us residents that create it all. All from the virtual environment to how we treat one another… But they don’t mention anything about what this world can do to you. Good and bad! It’s maybe not in their interest or not even their responsibility. I don’t know could have been me that didn’t find it. I don’t even think that anyone can understand what it’s like if you never have been interacting in SL.
Still ppl get hurt badly in here. Is it that we all don’t speak the same language? Projections? Can it be that some of us are training on skills we don’t own in RL? I am straight forward in RL and have no fear of conflicts there. In SL I could definitely be harder and not so damn polite and kind all the time. But do I train on others in here? Sure I do! Do I have the right? Yes I’d like to think so as long as I don’t hurt anyone else.
So why do we get hurt in here? Are we too sensitive? Ppl tell me that they separate SL and RL and when they turn off the computer the feelings stay in there. Hmmm… is that possible? For some but not for me. I myself have been here for about 20 months now and think I have done it all too. All phases and even been hurt. Some of my best friends in RL are from here. Have I met them? Nooooo not all of them but I love them deeply! Now is that possible? Yes thanks to voice, MSN, webcam, phones and SMS.
A very wise person told me... "SL is not a game to me, I always know there's a human heart behind every avatar I interact with in here, and I interact with that - the avatar is a house for it, just like the flesh body in RL is."
I will probably think about this some more and I hope to speak to more ppl about it cos it interest me a great deal.
So to all my friends out there and to the rest of you…
Take care of each other! Be nice and leave the drama at the door… or off the keyboard!
From a sunny Sweden. //Yeti
3 comments:
Yes, I've been in here going close to 2 years and have cried many times - both hurt and joyful. SL is so immersive and real that emotions "cross over" - and I decided from the outset (just like in RL) that since the door which closes out pain will also close out love and joy... I leave mine nailed wide open and damn the consequences.
I *live* in here, I don't just pilot a puppet.
Being at that level of "real" implies vulnerability, and yes you will get hurt from time to time if you live with an honest and open heart in SL. But also - and more importantly - everyone you interact with senses an inner honesty that's impossible to fake... and you will find yourself with quite a few genuinely caring friends who will brighten your life, share your happiness, help pick you up when you are down, and *be* there for you.
The more you give from the heart, the more you find available to give. Sharing is difficult for some, but shared pain is lessened and shared joy multiplies.
-Nemesis Greatrex
Good post Yeti. I think the "jelousy factor" is tenfold SL vs RL. How many ppl to you know recording what their partner is talking about in phone in RL? Not so many I guess and hope. How many do you know that have installed those kind of gadgets on their own SL land? I know plenty and thats so sad...
I am also "living" this life fully, but I wont ever set up any boarders for my family and friends.
//Jesper
When I was in love the first times in SL, I described SL as a really good testing lab for your feelings - to check out if you are dead or not ;-)
Feelings are real, love and affection is real (hate??? dont know, havn't tested hatred yet..) - if you can feel those feelings in SL, then you can do it in RL... or you can train and improve your feelings in SL so you can enjoy then even more in RL...
Jumal Jaxxon (who still thinks Yeti is the sexiest person in town....)
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