Happiness

Being happy, or at least somewhat content is something all humans beings want, we wake up and make our ways day after day in a constant pursuit of perfect happiness we're not always successful on, simply because our definition of bliss is not the same as everybody else's and truth be told, those things we believe will get us to that point will most likely shift or change over time.

In the Documentary, "Ted Talks - The surprising Science of Happiness-" challenges the idea that we really don't know what we want -at least when it comes to perfect happiness- and that our psychological immune system will in fact make us accept things that we didn't think would make us happy, in order to maintain our mental health.

After having watched this piece a few days ago, it did challenge the idea of Second life as a platform in our daily lives; most of us use this parallel existence to fulfill areas in our RLs that we think or know will make us happy, but have no access to for a number of reasons. Does SL bring users perfect happiness or is it only just another fabrication of our brain? Are we under the illusion that just because we can alter the way we look and the world around us, we are in full control of our bliss?

According to this research, happiness doesn't exist, it's only a defense of our brain to keep us going through the days, and the perception of it can be changed altered and tweaked beyond recognition depending on the situation we are in -which would explain why in SL, some users enjoy drama and the attention it comes with it or creating situations that makes them the center of attention, it is their idea of bliss whilst in the platform-

Be as it may, it being real or not, make your own kind of music while being respectful of others, just because it's been recently discovered that it's not a factual matter that can be measured, it doesn't mean that you are given permission to sacrifice other people's idea of happiness to profit your own.

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Normal...

Many people approach SL day after day and other virtual grids for a wide variety of reasons, it can be due to Role play and how versatile yet realistic it can be, to compensate for things we lack in RL -hence dabbling in these areas inside the grid- or just out of simple curiosity, truth be told and I stick to figures, nearly 800.000 users per year will open an account never to use it again -this also applies to twitter for example-.

Being a noob is complex and without the proper guidance, Second life can turn out to be hostile and boring, I was in fact, one of the lucky ones that "fell" into the right crowd of people -a good number of them still around and who I am proud to refer to as family-, them being one of the reasons why I stick around, even when my RL gets complex to the point I just don't wish to log in that day, and end up doing it anyway.

The reasons why I initially opened a SL account I will keep to myself, but many approach the grid trying to find a more complex "SIMS" online and are baffled on how different it is and of the never ending creative possibilities, but the average SL user is far from what society would define as "normal"; I was having this conversation with a friend this morning on how "normal" is not the norm in SL -all normals are out there in RL, living their average lives-

At the end of the day, there's no such thing as normal -there's not a norm we can contrast and give ourselves a score on how normal or average we are-, there's what's socially acceptable, what's expected of us as well adjusted citizens, good family members and so on; SL and other virtual grids such as ours do not only allow us to be all we can be, it also gives us room to lose all social inhibitions -this is why at times there seems to be so many weirdos in the platform-.

We're all weird, there's no such thing as normal, we just act and look normal -because going with the flow is just a lot easier-... SL allows us to be as weird and open about it as we can be, and that's a fact. Don't forget though that at the end of the day, no matter how much you profit from the anonymity SL provides, your true self will reveal itself, this indifferent to the number of "reboots" and "alts" you profit from, so much like in RL, make good use of the time you have.

P.S. Chris Evans was just for my own eye candy benefit, don't try to associate it with the article

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Bulletproof

After a day full of RL experiences, -such as this one- most of the time -and for a number of reasons I'll leave unexplained- I enjoy having some privacy and quiet time focused and dedicated to "my second life", while browsing through various pages trying to stay informed on what is going on with my loved ones, far and near.

Today while doing all of the above, I stumbled upon a few statements that I identified with and would like to elaborate on; one of them spoke about parenting, from a parent's perspective and it stated that becoming a parent is one of the bravest things a person can do -something I openly agree on-, when you become a parent you are bound to love that person that is a part of you unconditionally, no matter what he/she does or says, at the end of the day they are your progeny.

You also live in the constant fear of losing them, of risking them hating you when you are only trying to do what's best for them -but most of the times they just don't see-, you want them to be happy but secretly you also want them to be a reflection of you and at the end of the day to depend on you, but they are nothing but a loan that life has given you. SL has given me many things and my two kids are one of those things I'll be forever grateful, they have made me a better man in all aspects possible and have taught me to see beyond the obvious.

Now the second topic intertwined with this one would be happiness. What makes us happy? is this virtual / alternate life that we combine with our complex RL making you happiness? Did you start on your SL experience to find happiness?. Like the song says, I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose... after so many years, knowing that the ones I love, love me back for who I am and are not going anywhere and all I have is produce of hard work and gives me enough time and room to combine both my lives, I feel truly blessed and rich in many ways.

I don't need millions to be happy, I am happy with what I have and having lost and gained in life, having the certainty that nothing in life is permanent, I bask in every minute I spend living life -this being exploring RL or SL, spending time with my sons, taking pride and care in my work or DJing, I am truly bulletproof... so fire away.

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Knee deep

"Gonna put the world away for a minute, pretend I don't live in it"... it's one of the opening lines of the song which this article is named after; music is one of the things that not only make me happy but as a DJ I love sharing and knowing that people relate to me in a way when coming to my sets, it is present on every moment of my life and this song in particular is one of them which I play on my phone on my way to work every morning.

But what is the point on all of this? If you haven't heard the song, I'll have to elaborate on it or better yet, link you.  Sadly, the video doesn't do the song much justice, so ignore the "funny" antics and focus on the lyrics.

The first time I was introduced to this song by my son Skylar, I immediately associated it to the Second Life simulator; we as users create a very complex alternate reality, full of the worries and complexities of our real lives, but sometimes it is best to take a few steps back and focus on those things that are relevant, worrying about what's really important later.

Simply put, real life always has to rule over second life, that's what is really important, but when we make time to connect to the simulator and add to our free time more issues, it's then time to sit back and take a long hard look at what we are doing and better yet, if it's really worth the extra effort.

The one reason why I play this song every morning religiously on my way to work is to be reminded that in life, this being SL or RL -either or- there are things that are relevant, important and others that can be put on hold for any given amount of time, the trick is to be aware of the difference.

Keep it fun, keep it simple and learn to keep your head high with a smile on your face, "sunshine is going to take my blues away"

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Digital get down

For most of us, SL users and avid social platforms enthusiasts, the internet -and its growing ways of taking it with us everywhere- is the one way we relate to other people around us; forget the letters and phone calls -in fact cell phones are not really used as phones anymore, the calls are just one of those addons-, there are ways beyond imagining for us to find that special someone and distances are a thing of the past.

Long distance relationship are the one thing that populates the virtual platform where most of us have gone to looking for either, sex, an extra income or companionship and sometimes, if things go well with you and your significant other, you both decide to cross that thin SL/RL line and take it to the next step, it being skype, text messages or an actual meeting if you're both lucky enough to be within reasonable distance.

But if you're me, luck doesn't always happen to be present in your relationship equation and you have to make use of technology -while being creative- to do things that most couples take for granted; today was one of those days where I made use of it all, to have a semi-decent "date" with my husband.

Having recently moved to the area where I live now in RL, I have gotten into the habit of doing some exploring either by bus or train -whatever is cheapest at the time I decide to do so- when I'm not working, as it serves two purposes, it familiarizes me with my new surroundings and gives me something to do when I'm not busy doing SL things.

Today I decided to go visit a somewhat famous pier nearby and since I recently upgraded my phone, I got adventurous and tested the flexibility skype mobile offers, the outcome was a simple afternoon that was both magical and very romantic and despite the fact that I could not enjoy any actual physical proximity -like holding hands-, it really didn't matter, he was there with me... we had lunch, we had ice cream, walked along the streets checking out the shops on our way to the pier and even got lost a couple of times.

Is not only sex what skype has to offer, isn't that a shocker... live and learn -not that there is anything wrong with getting frisky on cam-, but there are many ways to enjoy a decent digital get down, if you get creative.

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