Per Wikipedia:
The Oxford English Dictionary defines grok as “to understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with” and “to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment”.
I’ve been on a binge of post-apocalyptic games lately. From the original Fallout to the beautiful Metro: Last Light, both titles have been on my gaming plate, bringing with them grayed-out worlds, weary survivors and a heaping array of menacing mutants. Yet despite that, these games, though incredibly dark in tone and presentation, still give a glimmer of hope.
We survive and endure the apocalypse.
Not only do we survive, but so does the world. Though horribly scarred and changed from the radiation of nuclear fallout, life endures. In some odd way, I find that incredibly reassuring. Such thoughts parallel a real life discussion my brother and I had about children a little while back.
For the longest time, I wanted to be a dad. But at 23, I found out the chances of that happening were slim-to-none due to some fertility issues. Needless to say, I was devastated. But eventually I came to terms with it. Now I’m married and have a 12 year-old stepson. Life is kind of funny in that it works out, just not always in ways you envisioned or planned!
So my brother, Nathaniel, and I are having this discussion the other day, and he’s like ,”You don’t want to have children?”
I respond, that no, I don’t as I already have a child. And that’s enough!
Even if I could at this point, I’m not sure I would. I’m 31 (at the time of this writing) and still at that tenuous point in my life where my wife and I are are simultaneously trying to provide for our child and secure our financial future. Then Nathaniel’s like, “But what about our name? Don’t you want to carry it on?”
“Not really!” I laugh. “We have two male cousins and you to do that!”
“Besides,” I continue, “humanity will go on. That’s what matters.”
Fallout and Metro: Last Light reminded me of that conversation with my brother. They’ve shown me worlds that are more brutal and dangerous than I ever hope to know.
But they also hold deep down, a hint of optimism: Life goes on.
I find that very comforting.
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