Warhammer Fortune Cookie Wisdom

The other day I got Chinese food for dinner and opened my usual fortune cookies that come with the meal to amuse myself and ponder the wisdom contained inside. One had an interesting thought, “Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting their own battle too.”

This pearl of wisdom is talking about that everyone has their own demons and issues in their life going on and that we should remember to be kind to one another. In Warhammer this can also apply as well when we play. We pick up the dice and push toy soldiers around to relax and have fun, to escape the real world for a few hours to bring some center back to our chaotic lives.

I am a person of human observation, I always have been. Back in college I enjoyed taking Psychology courses to understand people better in any vocation as well as life in general, many of them gave me great insight into human nature and those on the other side of the table. There have been times that I have played a game and had that black cloud over me or my opponent on the other side of the table. I am sure that some may noticed mine at times and I am sure people may or may not be aware of their own shadow that covers their nature when they game.

We all have some strife going on in our lives from work stress, economy, illness, loved ones, life and death among many things. This hobby is intended to be therapy for our soul, yet sometimes we loose sight of that passion for the game. We often try to force the square peg into the round hole when we play a game or tournament event. Often we forget to talk to the other player or laugh when something goes wrong with the dice. Instead we focus on rules; our discussions with the other player are direct, blunt and often about rules discussions or downright arguments. When the dice don’t roll well, we get pissed off and annoyed at them or the game itself. Perhaps karma is talking to us through the dice.

Even at our work spot for our hobby we sometimes chain you to the table instead of wanting to be there. The same could be said about a gaming table.  It no longer is enjoyable if we make it an “obligation” to do something.

What can you do about it? Decide if life is going to control you or if you will control life. My martial arts instructor back when I was young had a saying “leave your troubles at the door, focus on why you are here and pick up your worries on the way out the door.” Focus is the meaning to his wisdom on this. No matter what you have going on in life, don’t take it to the table. We all have battles to deal with; just this one should be about toy soldiers and dice, not our personal life bleeding over to the other side of the table.

Master what does this mean? Simple Grasshopper….

Is this easier said than done? I would say yes, but perhaps by taking this to the table we can see it much easier than before and better enjoy our hobby and those around us will also enjoy the hobby if we can keep our mindset in a different light. Our hobby is our balance in life, mak it so.