The Historian

In the chaos of bring a major expansion I sometimes get one or two people who ask, “How do you do it?”, “How to you stay calm when it seems like chaos?” and “I don’t know how you don’t just lose it sometimes”.

I rarely talk about my spiritual beliefs. I’m just one of those people that feels like it is a very personal thing and I don’t want to seem like I’m forcing what I think on others. That said, it is at the core of my ability to weather the storms of the players.

At about nineteen I came across a copy of “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman. Little did I know then the impact that it would have on my life. The title of this post, applies to a main character in the book, which I encourage you to read. No, I’m not going to review it here, but only touch on one aspect of its greater message: “Accept emotions completely, let your feelings be; just don’t let them run your life”.

I do get angry with people. Sometimes very angry, but I try to not let it run me. In fact I try to maintain a good sense of humor. I also try very hard to understand their perspective.

So are they really mad at me? At the root of all their complaints they want the same thing we do: “A game that works well and is fun to play”. Yes, they typically have a very specific thing that is most important to them, but honestly, all the complaints boil down to that one truth.

And in that, we are on the same side.