The Greater Perception

The past few days have been and interesting calamity of people, places, things, ideas, and emotions. Shards of perceptions that like cosmic rays have already passed through you and disappeared before you know it, leaving only a residual feeling behind in their wake.

Most of the time life moves to quickly to give valued attention to what has already come and gone - preparations are to be made in dealing with future battles.

Originally I was thinking the various encounters were all pointing up to some grand battle in my head of the Status Quo v. Change, along with any number of other cliches I could type up, nice soft friendly easily ignorable cliches.

However after a few recent experiences that all shifted, and a greater perspective took hold. (a quick thanks to "Exell" for that one - doubt he'll ever read this but credit needs to go out for the unique conversation that took place on Ashenvale chat).

Not very often you get philosophy in an MMORPG that isn't quickly subverted by the mob and turned into "barren's chat" - - 'nuff said.

In the end though two things stuck:

the first: That our perception shapes our truth - it is not truth that shapes our perception
second: That the only way to receive greater truth is by gaining greater perception. This greater perception can and has been denied in the past by some thus preventing greater truth from being understood.

This most likely wouldn't have stuck so much if not for the illustration that happened shortly after.

I had to go to Stranglethorn Vale to pick up some items. Shortly before the ship left Rachet a lvl31 human mage boarded (due to my playing an undead character this made my lvl27 warlock a clear target on this PVP server) shortly after we arrived - but had not docked the mage cooked me quickly and left me for dead.

I rez'd at the graveyard and found the mage standing by the warfmaster and promptly gave a /rude to them.

(note: for those not familiar with World of Warcraft there are guards that will activate if you try to fight in town boundaries - they are usually quick, brutal and efficient in ending any one who is in combat within their jurisdiction)

So the mage feeling slighted (even after toasting me up on the ship) lit up for a nice hot fireball to show their superiority once again - and triggered three guards which promptly snuffed out their current cylon body :)

I saw them again shortly there after and /smile at them - they remembered their perception changing lesson and although I could feel my "spidey sense" tingling just before the mage refrained from lighting up another fireball for me.

Not even 20sec after that encounter a much higher lvl hunter sent his pet to eat me and jumped off the pier into the bay below. Just as before the guards ended the pet - and would have left him alone, had he not shot me with an arrow, thus triggering his fate to the guards in the warm tropical waters below.

This would not have been so interesting if he hadn't come back on top and tried the same /rude on me as I had done earlier - all I could do was laugh. I'm not sure what happened to him - as he made to jump for the ship back to Rachet and missed - then promptly died and rez'd at the grave yard.

Karma is funny that way - -

With so much going on around us at the moment, there are times when feeling despair due engulf me with the impotence to change the world around me that seems to lead me to a greater perception in the end. Even if it is only temporary enlightenment to help endure what is yet ahead, many times it is after the struggle that reflection truly allows for my perspective to change.