Thursday, March 6, 2014

40 Days Away From Magic, Part Two

As I announced on Twitter earlier this week, I will be taking  40 days away from Magic the Gathering. This means I will not play, write, or blog about Magic. This even includes staying away from my Twitter feed and the various websites that provide high quality articles and videos related to this great game. I will, however, continue to host Monday Pauper Deck Challenge.

This week, I will be exploring three reasons why I believe this is the right decision and the right time for me to take this time away from the hobby that I enjoy so much. I posted the first reason on Tuesday. Here's the second one.

The broken locks were a warning,
you got inside my head
I tried my best to be guarded,
I'm an open book instead
I still see your reflection
inside of my eyes
That are looking for a purpose,
they're still looking for life
                                                                                                - “Broken”

Several years ago, I was part of a conversation about how you know when something you enjoy has become unhealthy or destructive. My friend’s answer was: when it owns your heart.
 
That’s why I feel like I need some time away from Magic. I fear it’s gotten to the point that it owns my heart. So much of my leisure time has been devoted to it: reading articles, watching videos, testing out different decks, writing about it, blogging about it – the list goes on. Even worse, when my play experience goes badly - as it will for anyone from time to time – my reaction is way out of proportion. In fact, after a particularly frustrating match during MPDC this week, there was a moment when I just wanted to log off Magic Online and never open it again.
 
So if my diagnosis is right, the best cure is time away. Time to discover just enmeshed this game has become in my heart. Time to reflect on where this has become dehumanizing and unhealthy. And time away to miss what is good and fun about it and look forward to returning to it next month.
 
In the end, I believe this time away will restore my enjoyment of the game – and in the process, make me a better Magic player. See you next time.

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