I live without a Television, and have for a number of years. I don’t even actually own one, since that day in 2008 when I was moving from one home to another home, and my television got dropped on its face. That was its last act before dying. Since I don’t have a Television, I have to find other ways to entertain myself. At first I played Majong, but that got boring. Then my 12-year-old boy introduced me to backyard monsters, but there again I got bored. That is when my son introduced me to Minecraft. It is a game inspired by Lagos, where you can build endless creations, but unlike Logos monsters come out at night and try to kill you. The days and nights exist of about 10 minutes approximately, which gives you a day’s time to build a shelter. The challenge is you have to mine all of your supplies including food (Well technically you have to either plant, or kill animals to eat). I really actually enjoy this game, because it is creative in nature, and I can just keep building and creating new things.
At first I kept judging it on the merits of reality, but my son repeatedly explained to me it is a computer game and reality does not matter. I have now come to realize and see some real wisdom in this game.
1.) It is easier to play in peaceful than to fight monsters in life.
2.) Most people choose to hide from the monsters in life, but some go out hunting them. I personally like to bounce up a few blocks and shoot arrows at the ones that come looking for me.
3.) Monsters lurk in dark areas.
4.) When you get too close to Creepers they blow you up.
5.) Awe and if you even accidentally hurt a neutral creature in this case a wolf they will hunt you down and kill you!
This is the first of my observations in Minecraft. How does this apply to life? Well of course it is always easier to just live life in the peaceful mode. The way we do this is to not judge everyone. Even when we attempt to live life in the peaceful mode the “monsters” will still sometimes come looking for you. You can try to hide from them, but living life in a hole is not very much fun. At the same time going hunting for the “monsters” in life can cause you a lot of strife as you will always be fighting the world. Remember you can avoid a lot of “monsters” if you just stay out of the darkness. Avoid negative situations. Oh and avoid the Creepers in life, as they will blow you up when you get too close to them. They are the negative people who take out their negativity on everyone around them.
Then there is number 5, which I learned a few nights ago while navigating through a forest. I was clearing out a tree block to make a path to walk; when I accidentally hit a wolf on the nose. He had been minding his own business and not a threat to me, but then turned on me with a horrible monster growl, and chased me out into the ocean where I gave up and drowned my avatar. The lesson is this, even nice people and creatures when hurt can turn into monsters. Treat everyone with respect and honor.
Let’s look at some more lessons that I have learned from this game:
6.) If you climb to the top of a mountain you can see more.
7.) You climb to the top of a big mountain one block at a time. If you try to climb more blocks than one at a time, you just bounce up and down in the same place or fall off the mountain.
8.) Always use the right tool for the job at hand. If you are trying to mine stone without a wood pickaxe you might get rid of it, but you won’t collect it. You can mine wood with any tool, but it is much faster with an axe.
9.) The better the tool the longer it will last. If you make a wooden pickaxe, it will take you a long time to mine anything, but a stone one will last longer than a wooden one, but not as long as an iron axe. Nothing matches the power and efficiency of a diamond tool. But hey who doesn’t like diamonds? Remember some tools just won’t work for everything.
Okay, I think this part of the list is fairly straight forward and applies to life quite naturally without a bunch of explanation. What else would I add to these?
Let’s move on:
10.) Safety towers are great to help you find your home when you have wandered off in search of supplies, but when you jump off of them you die. (In real life this would be a bad thing because we don’t just return in our beds when we die. We go to another world.
11.) Maps work just as well as safety towers, but you don’t die right after making one. That is why I prefer maps, but you have to have sugar cane, iron, and Redstone to make a map. Like I said games don’t have to stick to reality. Paper in our lives is made from trees. (Thank goodness in real life we now have gps systems in our phones, and cars. This is such a big benefit for some of us that are not directionally well seeded.
12.) If you lose your home, and cannot find it, just pick a new place and build a new home.
13.) Falling off of high cliffs or down into deep holes can be bad for your heart health. Actually, it can be bad for a lot of other parts of you too, but in this game you never see more than your own hand.
14.) Swimming in Lava is also bad for your heart. Who would have ever of guessed this? I guess games do follow a little bit of reality, although lava will hurt more than just your heart.
15.) It is always a good idea to watch where you are walking, because you don’t want to fall off a cliff, into a deep cavern, or go swimming in lava. In the game lava just not just exist in volcanos, but also in pools both above ground and below ground.
Oh and let’s not forget the most important thing I have gleaned from playing my son’s computer game… Nothing is impossible! Stone blocks can be suspended in mid-air. Chickens, sheep, and cows can all swim. You can go to the Nether World (Hell) and come back just fine. If you fall into the lava or swim in it as it is called in the game, you re-spawn right back in your bed if you have one, or back to your original spawning point if you have not made a bed and slept in it. Awe and my favorite thing is that when I get bored I can create a whole new world for myself.
Peace and harmony,
Sallyjane
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