Are we all just a Game ? ( Archived) (43)

Life may be a game, but there are no instructions. So we mudle through it. Paws

Paws,

Seems to me like sometimes we have to live life like a game. A very real game with everchanging rules of engagement, but a game none the less. It helps keep us reasonably sane in the chaotic, insane world that 21st century life has become.

And if we live, laugh, hook-up, break-up, love and crash in a virtual world, does that not give us some small experience and perhaps prepare us a little more for the real world, without quite as much danger? And if, say one time out of 1,000 the "video game love" actually DOES last, is it not worth the 999 times it didn't?

On the whole I agree with you, my friend. It is a sad commentary on our society. ...And folks said the same thing when telephones became commonplace.

There are no "manuals" for children, adults, nor for our hearts. They come with no guarantees, or instructions. They will never be "figured out" nor "perfection attained" anywhere along the lines.

If we learn anything here, I hope that some of us go away every day...with at least one laugh, one smile, or one new friend. That means we have spent our time here wisely.

good, i was hesitant on replying earlyer. but i sayed the hell with it. if im wrong, im wrong.

But how cool IS THIS? For the most part, it gives thousands of people the opportunity to do something when they would otherwise be sitting alone in front of a TV or alone...

The single mom who can't leave the house, people who don't have a lot of money to go out, but can afford internet. I remember being a teenager, only child, alone at home most nights. I would have LOVED to be online, chatting with friends, meeting new people.

I see how my son stays in touch with people from where we used to live.

No matter how hurtful it can become, it is better than the alternative. The thing is, for a lot of us, internet came of age well after we became accustomed to live without it. So maybe we have tended to take it a bit too seriously.

My son on the otherhand, when he was about 12, was warning ME to be careful of who I was chatting with. He used to joke about how it's probably some 40 year old guy in his underwear! HA HA ...

This is better than the alternative for so many people.

I think a lot of people get caught up in the illusion of what might be. Usually that illusion has no basis in reality, and was never any more than they very own imagination.

I don't allow myself to get emotionally caught up in things until they become physical. And by that time the relationship has already begun for real. So there's no way I'm going to get emotional via the Internet, or things said in emails. That's just not close enough for me to feel the emotions. I need to meet in-person before for I can get emotionally involved. And I'm talking about more than just meeting for a cup of coffee too.

never a game

Well you have to start somewhere, coffee is acceptable for a first meeting. Lunch is ok, Dinner is nicer.

Nothing wrong with meeting for coffee. I'm just saying that I'm not going to drive home from that meeting feeling "emotionally involved".

I may very well drive home from it with much enthusiasm for our next meeting. But I'm still not going to be devastated if she write back the next day saying that she found someone else.

In short, I need to become emotionally involved before I become emotionally involved.

Yes, I know that was a redundant sentence, but I don't know how else to put it.

I'm not talking about physical intimacy here. I'm just saying that having met for coffee is hardly enough to become emotionally involved with someone. At best it can be encouraging for the possibilities,. But certainly nothing more than that.

I guess I just don't really allow myself to become emotionally involved until we've actually gotten to a point where we've mutually decided to become "monogamous" partners. And again, that doesn't necessarily imply physical intimacy, but rather an exclusive relationship.

I mean, just because you've met someone for coffee doesn't mean that they aren't meeting others for coffee too! That's the other thing. I think a lot of people jump to conclusions about "monogamous" commitments where no such commitments were ever even discussed, implied, or agree to.

One person sees it as the start of a private monogamous relationship while the other person views it as "just another meeting with a potentially interesting person". I don't think either view is right or wrong. But it is wrong to assume things that haven't even been discussed.

It is not a game because the stakes are so high to those who value others and how they feel. But to some the human heart and feelings are just pawns in a cruel chess match that can be disposed of just as easily.