Kick off for the UEFA

You may ask what UEFA stands for, it stands for the Union of European Football Associations. In Europe, when we talk about football, we mean soccer, the number one sport in Europe.

This is when you see the national flags all over and in my case the German flag. Even in Second Life you can find soccer teams and people play this sport. The game of soccer is simple and the rules are easy to understand; this is why it makes it a sport that people love to watch. Although the USA has other sports it favors, it has become more popular since the World Cup.

This year the UEFA is held in Germany and this is good for the country, it brings Germans and Europe together, just like in the USA when the NFL football teams play. 

Of course, I will be watching my German team and you may have a favorite team or player. 

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." – Lionel Messi

Follow your dreams and never give up!!!

Turbulence of Life

Life is filled with turbulence, but how you react to each event is important. Do not sweat the small stuff and stop wasting time. Walking into the unknown can be scary … but simultaneously, it can be a time of discovering love for a fresh experience. It can be a time of walking into pure joy at the miracle of life that’s just emerging in this moment.

When you first changed your avatar to a mesh body, you messed it up, but after trying so many times, it eventually got corrected. Just roll with the waves as they come. You are not alone and we all have to go through them. 

As I get older, I appreciate that I can still walk, see, hear, and think. Second Life, the virtual world turning 21 this month. I never imagined I would be part of something this great. I know many DJs in Second Life perform at the SL21B and I am honored I can participate once again.

This year it will be my 6th year that I participate. Talk about turbulence, for the past two years I DJed right after some famous performers in Second Life. You can imagine how the audience was still pumped up, and there came a little old me with little impact. Then one year my graphics card was acting up (it was actually loose) and it was difficult to maneuver around with a full sim and DJ.

I rode that wave and finished. I am sure many of you have done the same thing. You finished what you started even if it was not the perfect result you had imagined. It is ok. We are imperfect, but it takes courage to complete a job in this turbulence.

I do not know how it will go this year. I am just going to do this and trust the opportunity once again to play music and celebrate what we all enjoy. 

Radio Silence

“Hello, I hope somebody is listening... If nobody is listening, am I making any sound at all?”

When you are out there traveling you experience radio silence. Sometimes I appreciate the silence, but other times I wonder what happened. They say that silence is golden, but is it really? 

The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures whose charms were broken if revealed.

Second Life has many secrets kept by its avatar beholders. Not all are bad but some avatars are experts in ghosting others. I know of some who are well known in this virtual world who are secretly someone else but never reveal their real selves, especially when it comes to gender. I have never been a fan of these practices, because they speak of the person's true character. If they lie here they lie everywhere else too. I am not saying that you must reveal your true name here or even show a real-life picture of yourself, but you should be honest enough and tell someone your real gender, nobody likes a catfish.

Be good to yourself and watch out for ghosts and catfish that prowl the virtual worlds.

Dandelion field

Life is getting slowly back to normal without the constant pain. I decided to log back into Second Life and what do I see? An alien in the dandelion field. Did you know that this particular plant can be very helpful with many things? 

Though plants look obviously green to the human eye, they have another characteristic that is, in fact, more striking and I want to believe that aliens know this as well. This is mainly known as a 
weed but this plant has a healing power. Dandelion does have some positive interactions with humans — its greens are edible, and delicious in fact if eaten when young. The flowers are not only pretty but are also edible and can also be used to color foods, e.g. dandelion pancakes.

Dandelions can be used to make wine, however, the dandelions are only being used as coloring/flavoring agents — the sugars that the yeast ferment must be provided from cane sugar, honey, grape juice, etc.

Lucky here at the Retreat this plant grows wild and this may have attracted the alien. If you find yourself worrying, go outside, take three breaths, address a tree, and quietly say, 'Thank you.' If you can't find a tree, a dandelion will do... Nature is magic.

I am feeling so much better and missed logging into Second Life and soon I will be 100% myself again. 

I had an issue during the billing and had to call customer service and let me tell you, they were the nicest and most understanding people. Who says there is no customer service anymore has never spoken to an SL person who works there. Think about it who else understands that you are worried that your place might disappear? Thank you Second Life, I am so glad it all got taken care of and I had one less thing to worry about during my healing. 

Almost time to get ready for the SL21B. Twenty-one years of Second Life are remarkable, only we the Second Life residents would understand. More updates on where and what coming soon. Stay well, stay logged in :)

Send me well wishes on Discord :)

 I am slowly recovering from the agonizing pain...more stuff to come soon. I haven't been able to come on SL much lately because of this.

Join me on DISCORD

https://discord.gg/quTeYcQpm5

This is Rickey Whitefeather...he keeps me company while I recover.

Still more pain

 Not sure if anybody reads my blog...but I have been in pain since the beginning of this month. 

Some positive vibes from my SL friends would be great about now...

I will finish the new exhibit as soon as I am better.

When life is painful

 The last week I have been in so much pain, almost too painful to go log into Second Life with my friends and also imaginary friends.

And no, the pain is not any kind of heartache you often get in Second Life when you get too involved with people. This pain is physical. I am amazed by people who are in their 70s and they log into Second Life. When you were a teenager and let's just say the internet was already invented, could you imagine your grandparents giggling with others their age in a 3D world? Probably not! This happens, people get older and older in second life and of course, this platform turns 21 in June.

I don't have a laptop where I can log into SL in bed, which can be good and bad. I needed the rest after sitting for hours on a plane. You know you do not get any rest there.

Controlling your avatar and keeping things going takes lots of energy that people who have never been in Second Life cannot understand. This is not a bad thing, because, for the older generation, these kind of actions keeps us all young. I have gratitude that I can log on when the physical pain is not too overwhelming, but even if I can escape for an hour or so, it contributes to the healing process.

I have to give credit to a friend of mine in Second Life who met this guy and they really hit it off and were even planning a wedding right here at the Retreat. On the day we were going to discuss the details of this event, he was a no-show. The next day I found out he disappeared from Second Life and deleted that account. He may be around with a new name or an older name. Yes, she was heartbroken, but that pain did not stop her from coming back. So she is doing what she always does and goes dancing, and chats with friends. She is way into her 70s.

In the meantime when the real world feels upside down, just know you are just a click away to hopefully feel better for a little bit.

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." —Buddhist Proverb