Balance is key

Lets elaborate the phase "Balance is key" from my previous blog entry. When you look at all aspect of life on earth, space, universe, heck even under your bed, you will see they all have balance when it comes to how things are done. I am not going to get into the whole "live as one with the earth" green peace propaganda stuff but what I am going to mention is balance is natural and anything without it is unnatural. This leads to a question you should ask yourself, Does unnatural things live long? I am not talking about robots or technology here but the trees in your yard or more cynically, a mutated child with an extra arm, Do unnatural things live long?

The simple answer is no. Unnatural things which do not have balance do not live long lives. The concept you should have gotten out of this is balance is needed for anything to survive. This includes non-tangible objects such as human emotions or thoughts. War gaming, painting, or any hobby is on a cliff when it comes to balance. Actually I would consider maintaining a relationship with another human being easier than maintaining the love and dedication for the hobby. I say this because I get bored quickly if things do not go my way when it comes to my hobbies. While I do believe I am not the only one who reacts this way, it is a pretty bad habit to have since painting is a big evil in the destruction of the wargaming balance. 

Many people would agree they never considered painting to be their cup of tea and has stayed away from it since leaving pre-school. That's how bad painting it is to most. The concept of sacrificing time and maintaining patient to hone the skills needed to successfully pull of a, in your own eyes, work of art of a miniature is daunting. Especially when you want to play the game these miniatures are involved in as well. Why would you be spending years honing painting skills if you want to play now, right? This is why when asked which wargamer I am, I can consider answering in three ways. I am painter. I am a hobbyist. I am a gamer. I talked about the triangle of wargaming in my last blog as well, so if you want to read about it, go there.

At first, everyone's motive for joining the hobby is between hence the three responses. However, in an ideal situation, those answers will merge to become just one simple "I am a wargamer" though this happens to rarely to discuss. What normally happens is this, people choose one path to focus on for a while, thinking to themselves that they can always improve the other two paths later in their hobby life span. Then they just give up, for example, the gamer. The gamer are people who wants to play, enjoys playing but not really a painter or a hobbyist. After a a prolong time, they want to have good looking miniatures and the simple ones or unpainted ones are being frustrating to play or even look at. They tend try their best to paint but fail to get to the level they seek because they do not invest the time or practice needed. Everyone likes a quick way to do things but always expect the best outcome which never happens. Even though the gamer enjoys the game, he or she no longer enjoy the miniature quality he or she plays with. They stop playing the game and before long, the miniatures are in an attic, under the bed, in the closet to be forgotten.

I stress it again. If you are suffering from painter's burn out, it is probably because there is no balance. If you lost the love for the hobby, it is probably because there is no balance.

Balance is key and should always be kept. Not only in this hobby, but as a life style.