Are You Content in Second Life?

Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

Mark Twain 

Are you content in Second Life (SL)?

Interesting question, eh?  (Significant Other says I’d better be.)

Why shouldn’t we be?

Let’s discuss this thought for a while.

What is contentment?

I don’t want to go overboard here.  No Sigmund Freud psychoanalysis, no psych tests, none of the usual means by which we try to dissect this very subjective state. 

What makes us happy?

I want to avoid a technical measure like Maslow’s pyramid of needs.  Like life itself, we have no specific definition but we know it when we see it. 

I think at the end of the day it comes down to do we feel good about ourselves whether in SL or in Real Life (RL)?

Let me take myself as an admittedly biased example.  (I ignore Significant Other’s groans.)

I’m content in SL.  (Significant Other lets out a sigh of relief.)

Why?

I have many friends (OK, not all of whom will admit to this publically.), new journeys of exploration across the Grid await me every time I rezz inworld, I can write, and three people actually admit to reading me on a regular basis!  (Hey, Van Gogh only had one buyer for one painting in his life.) 

But, most of all, RL is in a good place for me right now.  I’m home far more often than I was when I was globetrotting all over the place in RL and Significant Other shows no signs of wanting to throw me out! (Significant Other enthusiastically nods in the affirmative.) 

What about others inworld?

Are they content? If so, what are their reasons? 

I’ve found many residents over the years to be inworld for the technical challenge, the creative opportunities (art, writing, music, and film), relationships both friendship and romantic, or simply a place to go.

Everyone has their own reason or reasons.

SL does change like the seasons in RL.  But, life inworld repeats itself just as it does

in RL.  There is a long established community inworld now and they must be content if they keep coming back.  Even the masochists! 

I’d love to hear from you about whether or not you’re content inworld and your reasons for being so. 

If I get enough responses, I’ll come back with an update!

Please drop me a line!

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

            If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

            Open roads and kind fires!