I have a favorite video on Youtube that was put into a contest a year ago, I think, and won first place. I'm sure that most people who watch WoW videos have seen it but it really was one of the few videos that stuck out in my mind because of the lesson involved in it, and it seems even more appropriate to me now than ever.
Nobody sets out to lose themselves in the game. No one I know actively says that they will be choosing loot over friends, raids over groups, or anything like that. But it seems very easy to me to be able to lose sight of the real reason to play ANY game, WoW of course included, amidst trying to do what you set out to do in the first place.
Casual guilds like mine are forever in danger of the pitfalls of becoming a raiding guild, or vice versa, a raiding guild becoming too casual. Good players, like my wife (amongst others) are constantly at risk of becoming so dependent on addons and wow blogs that they can no longer see the game that they're playing, or are spending more time reading about the game than actually playing it. (No, I'm not actually saying this is true with K, I'm using her as a frame of reference for the caliber of player I think is most at risk.)
Every now and again it would serve anyone well to be reminded of exactly WHY they do what they do, so they can re-evaluate if WHAT they do is actually still moving them in the same direction they first started out intending to go.
And this video serves as a reminder to me, and maybe now to you, of exactly that. There are things far more important than raiding or efficiency or rules or ranks. No amount of epic loots, achievements accomplished, raid bosses downed, or Armory/WoW-Heroes rankings will ever replace or compare to downing VanCleef your first time, with your best friends.
Not ever.
Frame of Mind
