ES - Heal Thyself / membership

[Sluggy]

> > Baroness Xene here,

(much snipage)

> > And when you do work on a problem with someone, and you have done
> > something wrong, admit it, apologize, call the blow, and move on.

"Call the blow" in this sentance so perfectly summarizes the spirit of
the whole missive, this thread and, in fact, the thread which spawned
it.

The combat we enjoy, so strongly rooted in the chivalry and honor that
we consider an ideal, is dependant on not just the words "call the
blow", but what they represent. To yield when you SHOULD, long before
you MUST...

To a newcomer or outsider, the awards bestowed upon us look like
standards that we might measure each other by. I suspect that most
newcomers, as did I, see the awards as specific goals to pursue,
governed by rules and formulae. In reality, the awards symbolize the
recognition by our peers that we may have reached a goal. This goal, by
its very nature, seems undefinable. Sure, we can cite specific reasons
we might recommend an award for someone, but the actual goal is not very
definable.

It's clear to me now that, in a very Zen-like tradition, it is not the
goal, but the journey that transforms us. We learn, by example if
possible, by trial and error if we must, and we soon are having so much
fun and enjoying the fellowship of our new extended family that we
forget about the goals we once thought we were pursuing. Suddenly, one
night you're called into court and they gotcha. It seems there IS a
formula for getting awards, that you must actually forget about getting
awards. :)

Before I wander too far off the topic (oops, too late!), the same humble
attitude that results in one's AoA is the same attitude that will make a
player pay to become a member. Not because they must, but because they
should. Our role is not to enforce membership but live the dream and
share the dream. Once we are touched by the dream, $35 is merely money.

Sluggy!
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.