136 thoughts on “some air to breathe and something to believe”

1. I come here for all of the above (Star Trek, movies, gaming, technology, politics, family stories, poker stories) and like reading about all of them. It’s crappy that you’re feeling defeated and I hope you will find your purple cow soon (while you are looking, if you find a green one, would you tell her to come home, she is greatly missed).

2. First again, weird.
   Thats a pretty honest entry, which is good. I dont have too many doubts that you can get yourself out of this rut, if you have an attitude like that, we all go through em i guess. And in all honesty, if your blog was truly crap, i wouldnt be reading it, and i have been for 2 years now.

3. Wil, I know you’re under a lot of pressure, whether it’s personal or professional, and I want you to know that you still have a posse, and a lot of people care about you. You don’t have to be extraordinary to anyone, so long as you’re happy with yourself. I know you have it in you to do whatever you want, but I know that I can’t expect everything a person writes to be exciting and compelling, especially in blogs. This is where you vent your feelings, and that’s all it has to be. I don’t come here looking for compelling masterworks. I look for another normal guy with normal guy troubles and victories, and you provide that in spades. Keep on keepin’ on, Wil. We’re here for you.

4. I see this point in your life as something that happens to more people than we will ever know. People will just not admit it. I think the admission of it to yourself and others is the best possible thing you could do.
   Your sharing with the rest of us is one of the reasons, I come back everyday. I check multiple times a day to see what this celebrity has to talk about. Plus you got me hooked on online poker, still waiting to put some real money in.
   Will, Its just…I CAN’T QUIT YOU!!!!

5. What I can say is that you are going to write what you are going to write about, and I am going to read it. That’s what I’m here for. Know that I appreciate you for everything you write about, whether or not I agree with it, and that is all the expectation I have for this blog. It’s original, IMHO, and I’ve been reading it for a number of years. I feel like I’m committed to reading your blog, which means rain or shine, this site is one of the first things I read when I get up.
   Regarding being a failure: that is simply your view. My view of you is someone who has been very successful and you are well known by a great many people. Now if you were speeding down a highway in a white bronco being chased by several cop cars, my view might change a bit. And that’s the thing – views can change. Just step a little to the left or right, and you’ll see something different. Heck, just try closing one eye!
   As far as your acting career, or any aspect of your life, you’re responsible for it. If you are 100% honest with yourself, you’ll see that in the end, you produce your results in your life, and you can leave blame and fault behind. It’s hard to be honest with oneself, because we are not raised to be that way. But look at anyone who is successful – there is a cliche about “successful people are those willing to do what everyone else is not willing to do”. I’m right there in seeing how I will give up certain things because, in my view, it’s too hard or something. I have to live with those results, and so does everyone else. That’s life.
   In any event, you know where you are right now. Let 5 years ago be 5 years ago and live for now – with your wife and kids, and everything else you have now . This moment, as is every moment, is yours. Do with it what you will!

6. I think everyone goes through phases like this. And you’re certainly not the only step-parent that has to deal with a dead-beat dad or mom.
   It takes real effort to make real change. Things will look up.
   And if you’ve lost some readers because they’re no longer thrilled or excited by your posts, well…poo on them. Post what you want to post. This is YOUR blog. This is YOUR forum for release. No one can be exciting 100% of the time. If they are, they become the status quo and are no longer exciting, right?
   Hang in there.

7. Wil, I gotta say that my circumstances aren’t that much more different to yours (minus the celb status and choice of profession), and reading your blog and books have really helped me to come to terms with my own issues.
   But over the last few months I have been able to look at what you have done with your life (post Wesley) and that has really insprired me to grab life by the balls – and go and get what I want. You got a great family, and honestly that’s all that counts. Enjoy that and with a little luck, everything else will slot right into place!

8. I’m mostly a lurker but I’ve loved your blog regardless of what you post for a little over a year now. I plug it whenever I get the chance. I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t think it was worth it.
   I think you’re a wonderful writer and that’s what keeps me coming back. But don’t write for me or for anyone else but yourself. It’s your blog – you do what makes you happy. I’ll still read it 🙂
   It sucks to feel down like this but here’s my favourite saying whenever I feel like this: “One day, this will all be twenty years ago.” It helps 🙂 Take care Wil.

9. I am sitting here at my job, which I’ve been contemplate leaving for the past year. I think we all at some point in our lives come to a crossroad and wonder if we are on a true path. That’s one of the reasons why I read you every day. You bring out the trials and tribulations of the “every man”. Thank you for that. Smie and think about all you do have. Loving and great kids, a loving and beautiful wife, an innate ability to create, which some of us can’t do.
   Believe me, I know what you are going through. It takes great courage and a little bit of grieving to relinquish some of our past, whether it be a bad memory, a person or a job.
   Like the others who’ve posted before me, HANG IN THERE. it’ll get better.

10. “In many ways, I feel like I’ve run really hard, and really fast, and ended up right back where I started.”
    Something I learned in therapy: healing is a spiral. You’ll run into the same issues over and over again–so healing is a process, not a goal–but each time you meet that issue at a different level so that what looks like a circle is actually a spiral. I think the spiral metaphor works for life in general. Yes, you are dealing with the same issues that you’ve dealt with before, but you’re not the same person you were before. You learned something the last time you had to deal with this issue; other things have happened to you since you last ran into this issue; “times change, people change, interest rates fluctuate.”
    Right now it might look and feel as though you’ve gone in a circle, but if you can change your perspective, you’ll see it’s a spiral. Progress is being made–it might not be the direction in which you thought you wanted to go, but at least you’re not standing still.
    Hang in there, Wil. The wheel turns.

11. You talked the other day about people having to censor themselves on their blogs. I think the opposite is true as well. Sometimes, we try so hard and reach so far to find something “interesting” to say that we completely miss the mark. The problem with “interesting” is the same as the problem with everything else. There’s as many kinds of “interesting” as there are kinds of people and the beauty and misery of this medium is that you get to see them all.
    Those people who berate you for what you want to talk about are obviously here for the wrong reasons. Yes, it’s good to have A Name. It can get you into some rooms you normally would not have a chance in hell of getting into and it carries with it a certain amount of notoriety. But the drawback to that is people can begin to feel like The Name is not a person. The Name is not Real. The Name should shape itself to fit the (in this case) reader’s perception of what The Name is.
    These are the same people who would come over to your house, use your toilet and then wipe their ass on your hand towel. Yes, most of us came here because you have A Name. But those of us who are *still* here are here not because of who you are supposed to be, but because we like you. You’re a good guy. You’re a regular guy. You may or may not have a very public profession but at the end of the day, the guy that we sit down to play poker with on Tuesday nights is just a guy with a blog.
    I read lots of blogs. You’re the only one (so far as I know) who has a name. Yes, in the beginning I came here because you were “Wil Wheaton”. I doubt there are many of us who didn’t. But I stuck around because I find what you have to say interesting. Yah, there are times when you start rambling on about codes and webpage stuff and this or that other technical thing and I start drooling and running around telling people to GET OUTTA MY CHAIR!! But then I snap out of it because you make another “sacchrine stories about my family” post and I get a snapshot of your life. And ultimately that’s what I read ANYBODY’S blog for, not just yours.
    Everyday, ordinary, average, Non-Name people sometimes feel better about themselves if they can knock someone they perceive better down a peg or two. I know that as a human being, it hurts. But there’s more people like me and the rest of the commenters so far out there than the former.
    Bottom line-Love yourself. Love your wonderful wife. Love your amazing kids. Love your unique and deserving family. Know that at some point, no matter how low you feel or how dead in the water you think you are, things will turn around.
    Chin up, Mr. Wheaton. I would hate for your present state of ‘funkiness’ to prevent you from playing next week and robbing me of the chance to bust you out 🙂

12. *in full lotus position*
    Humina humina Journey not the destination humina
    Yah, it never makes me feel better either.
    “but I have to somehow find it, and walk a dangerous, delicate, precarious and fine line between providing for my family, spending time with (and enjoying) my family, and hitting the acting needle as frequently and as hard as I can without becoming a gutter burnout.”
    Nail. On. The Head. Man, you captured the dance.
    Hang in there! I usually find the poopy times like this are just God’s way of making sure I’m fully signed up for the craziness that is about to ensue. $10 says you book in the next two weeks.

13. Here’s the plain of it: if you’re as crappy as you think, your 15 readers would be 0 readers. You’ll be fine. Trust me.

14. Hey Wil.
    Sometimes what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. And sometimes, what doesn’t kill us just plain sucks. Thanks for the honesty. It is easy to write how you feel but very difficult to share that truth. I have every confidence that you can pull yourself out of this funk. You ARE a good actor. You ARE a great writer. You ARE AN EXCELLENT Father and Husband. I’ve been reading your blog for 3 years now and I have both of your books. Just keep at it Wil.
    Lorraine

15. Five years ago I was bottom of the barrel. No job and mounting debt. And during that time I started to roam round the internets and I found your blog.
    Made some friends, drew a funny pic of Spudnuts and wrote some now embarassing comments that have been lost in time.
    Reading your blog comforts me Wil.
    I came to realize that I’m prolly not going to be known for my writting, or my art but that people latch on to my cooking.
    You’re stories helped me realize that and helped me move forward.
    So last fall I took a chance and started winning awards for my cooking.
    Point of the story from this wandering cook?
    I don’t think you’re at the end of your trail, I don’t think you’ve even stopped moving, just make small moves and do what you can to support your family.
    Your posse is here for you.

16. I think maybe you need to leave the state of California and see how some of us live. Things happen and sometimes life is less than thrilling, but it’s not some reflection on you as a person, life happens. If you want change remove yourself from your situation for a while, go do something you never thought you would do, something uncomfortable and different. The road less traveled so to speak. get the hell out of of your comfort bubble for a moment and take a good look around you. You want inspiration, go and find it! Some times what we all need is a change of scenery. If you need some ideas I’m full of them!
    I love your blog and I will continue to read it! It inspired me to write my own. Its less trafficed than yours,of course, but I do it for me and sometimes people read it, and that is the coolest thing. I say what I want, and I amaze myself everytime. I thank you for showing me the way. Now get out there and experience life!

17. I keep reading for the honesty. It’s what I get here every time you post. Does it have to be the interesting purple cow? No…it is what it is what it is. Quality and honesty doesn’t have to be purple, but I can see your point of purple paying the bills.
    My dad worked in a steel mill (hey now, no gay steel mill jokes!) Did he like it everyday? Nope, it was dirty, it smelled, it was dull, it hunched his back. It paid the bills so he could enjoy what was really important to him. The job was a means to an end. Life moved on, some obligations ended, others changed, and he found that there was joy in the ride. His time feeling stifled, another means to an end that now he feels very grateful for. It had purpose.
    Thanks for giving me the chance to comment, and the opportunity to procrastinate doing my taxes and loading my dishwasher. I try to remember that there is a means to an end when you load the dishwasher but it sure is crap when you are in the middle of rinsing the dishes.

18. Wil, you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and, gosh darn it, people like you.
    If you promise to download the following two songs from iTunes, I’ll send you the $1.98:
    Please Stand Up by British Sea Power
    One Step Closer to Home by The Alarm Electric Folklore (Live)

19. Wil, dear… you haven’t failed as an actor. You have succeeded as a human being.

20. Okay, I’m feeling pretty shitty about the “saccharine” thing… but I don’t regret it. Honest opinions were solicited, so I gave one. I guess the point I was trying to make is.. to follow the established prose-y trend.. for every zillion guys who can write well about everyday, ordinary experiences, there is only one Wil Wheaton.
    Yes, when you do write about family and such, you do so extraordinarily well. But it’s sort of like listening to a fantastic vocalist sing nursery rhymes. Nice every now and then, but you wouldn’t want a whole album’s worth.
    Granted, it’s a personal blog about your life and so forth, and many people clearly love the family-related anecdotes (I seem to be the sole minority), but it’s so heavily censored through the “I need to protect my family” filter. There’s no grit to it. No chutzpah. It’s perfectly understandable to want to protect the family unit, so by no means am I saying that you should blog about the bad stuff, too. That would be irresponsible by anyone’s definition. And that’s the rub.
    But, as many folks have said, it IS about balance. It’s the unique combination of manic actor, hyper writer, poker fiend, profane ranter, one-time Wesley Crusher, and yes… regular joe and family man, that makes you so original.
    So, if all you’re currrently blogging about is family and poker, because family and poker is all you’ve got going on right now, then yeah… maybe you need to get out a little more.
    But you seem to already know this.
    And that’s all I was trying to say.
    About the acting thing — how approachable are you to smaller indie producers, writers, and directors? There’s a lot of us out there.. a lot of people who see you for the tragically under-used talent you are.. and some of us even have cameras and crews. So if you’re looking to get into the grubby trenches and experience some real magic, maybe you should open yourself up to folks like me — not Hollywood power players, but not nobodys either. You know?
    So, there you go. You’re always going to disappoint someone.. just don’t let it be yourself. A lot of people would be happy if the current family- and poker-themed trend continued forever, but I’ve been reading long enough to know that that’s not even remotely ALL you are. You need an adventure. Go find one.. and come back here and tell us about it.
    -The Nerdy Girl in Portland
    P.S. WWdN readers: Thank you for not jumping my shit. It’s all just one girl’s opinion.

21. I appreciate all your comments and observations. Often, when I ask a question, I already know the answer (even if it’s not apparent to me at the moment.)
    To extend the Purple Cow a little more: I used to feel extraordinary, and recently I just feel ordinary. I don’t like feeling average, and now that I’ve identified that feeling, I can get down to doing something about it.

22. Wow…I can totally relate to where you are coming from emotionally albeit from a far different professional background. I understand the burden of potential and talent. I appreciate your openness and candor. There’s something insidiously evil about this type of crisis. Your brain tells you to “STFU! It’s not so bad!” but your heart just aches. Yes, it could be much much worse, but there is no shame in having drive, ambition and goals. Are you looking for onscreen work or voiceover work? I’m sure you know or your agent knows some of the folks I do – but if I can help – I would love to do so! (Union or non-union work? I know folks in LA and in a right-to-work-non-union state.) You’ve inspired me to pull myself up by my bootstraps to get out of the rut I’ve been in and get back on the path.
    I’ve only been reading your blog for about a week now and this cow still has a lavendar sheen. You have a lot to say and no matter what you’re writing about – it’s compelling. I’m looking forward to seeing where you take us on this journey.
    I agree with Man O’Nam – we *ARE* here for you.
    Steph – a disembodied friendly person in the ether…

23. Oh, you weren’t the only person to say “sacchrine,” nerdy girl. A lot of people chose that word, which, in itself, says something.

24. Okay, I’ll start from the beginning. I was 12 or 13 when I saw Stand By Me. I’m 35 now. I watched that damn movie more times than I care to say. I was a girl who had HBO and no social life. I was also a VERY big Stephen King fan. I would read/watch anything that he did. I really liked that movie. It intrigued me. It’s not often a girl my age got to peek inside the world of boys my age like that. Plus the fact that I liked good movies and had no problem watching them 100 times. (It was around the same time that I watched Poltergiest about 40 times). Anyhow, you were my favortie character in that movie. It seemed you were the perfect one to play that part. I had read the short story and you pretty much pegged what my imagination had made of Gordie. The very weird thing is, that line that Chris says “you’re gonna be a great writer someday Gordie” gave me a funny feeling when he said it to you. I don’t know how you feel about ESP and all that, but it was that kind of funny feeling. Something that was not unfamiliar to me by that age. I remember thinking “I wonder when his book will be out”. A few years went by and I got hooked on Star Trek TNG. My Dad was a big fan of the original series, I thought it was okay, but I didn’t become a true Trekkie until TNG. I was very pleased to see that you were part of that show. Life went on as it always does. I got married and had two wonderful children. When they were 4 and 2 I ended up getting a divorce because he became abusive. I had put up with it for a few years but, enough was enough. I then met a geek. After knowing eachother for quite some time, we finally admitted our feelings and we got married. Everyone should marry a geek. I was a geek in my own right, but he far surpasses my dork skills. My children fell in love with him just as much as I did. He’s smart, sensitive and still plays with Legos. I eventually found your blog and how you spoke of your family and the struggles of being a step-dad. All that really hit home with me. I bought your books and tried to send you all the positive energy I could muster your way. I still read your blog everyday. I still watch TNG everynight and am always happy when it’s an episode that you’re in. I’ve watched Stand By Me with my kids and see that they love that movie as much as I did. I’ve been a fan of yours for quite some time and I see that you are falling back into a funk of sorts. I finally created an account to comment on this. I just wanted to let you know that great things are ahead of you still. be it acting, writing, sketch, whatever it is, there is so much more for you. I know it gets frustrating waiting for the next thing that will bring you back up. Trying and trying and not seeing the results you were hoping for. You’re a wonderful writer and indeed a wonderful actor. Just keep plugging along, enjoying your family, and most of all, Do what you love. Great things Wil, they’re coming for you.

25. Wil, one other thing I used to notice you get excited, but haven’t been doing is the ACME shows, they seemed to pump you up creatively. I don’t know how they run, but that might be another area to explore.

26. Hi Wil,
    This is partially related to this post, and partially related to a post you make some time ago about a comment an asshat made to you about Team PokerStars…
    Don’t let something like a new incarcation of “Prove to Everyone” get you down… I personally don’t think you have to prove anything to anyone about your choices and positions that you have other than yourself. Anyone who has seen your work knows you are a great writer and a great actor. I know that doesn’t support the wife and kids, but self-confidence is a huge part of being able to “lay it all out there” and do your best work.
    Keep it up, Wil. Your loyal fans are with you. (Damn, that’s a redundant statement. Where’s my sign?) 🙂

27. I agree with the ACME thing. Also, “Just a Geek” would be a wildly successful stage show under my direction. Just sayin.
    Again.
    For the millionth time.
    oh yeah… opportunisticlicious!

28. Still proscrastinating, but I cannot help myself…
    Wil, have you found Jesus?
    I crack myself up…meh, delete this if you want. 😀

29. A big thanks to Wil for responding to all the reader/listener comments and emails.
    Not knowing your full story beyond what we see on the blog, IMHO you sound like someone who finally got to the bottom of the hill and is starting to look for a way up the next one. Don’t worry, you’ll find it.

30. Hi Wil. Maybe what you’re feeling is one of those bugs going round – I’ve got it too. Had it for a long time now. Guess it’s an early example of a viral mutation from humans to computers and back again.
    I don’t have anything useful to say, because I know *I* never listen to it. There are things in your life that I wish I had (and which I’m working out a plan to steal – but more on that when you’re out of the house and I perfect my lock-picking), and perhaps you might find things in my life that you wish you had (like the things I’ve stolen from you). I don’t know that “Hey! At Least There’s This!” works ever, really.
    So I guess I’m just saying I share the sentiment to a large degree. And so I really do feel sorry. Because I don’t like it myself.
    But I do like this blog…

31. Wil, you may feel defeated, but you obviously are not defeated. There is way too much to you to ever be truly defeated. Your cow will find it’s color once more, I for one am rooting for chartreuse but that is neither here nor there… ;P Chin up and all that jazz.

32. Wil, I think all of us feel this way from time to time. Sounds like you are on your way to getting out of your rut. As actors go, I still think of you as an outstanding example. You have said many times how you like the Internet’s individual supporting structure. Maybe you could apply that toward acting? Write some scripts with friends, video it and sell them for $3 a piece at iTunes. That’s just one off the wall suggestion, but it seems like if anyone on the planet could make something like that work, it would be you. Cheers.

33. Wil,
    I read your blog because so much of what you say about your life seems to resonate with me. We’re totally different people with different backgrounds and circumstances, but it’s still three, you know?
    If you really feel as gushy and “saccharine” about your life as people suggest- that’s great! More people should love their families as much as you do.
    My own career choice is quite different – research and teaching at a university – and so much of my own self esteem seems to come from my students’ reactions to my lectures. My wife is always telling me to stop worrying about what they think, that I am doing fine, but they still have an effect on you anyway.
    What I’m trying to say – is that we all feel extraordinary much of the time. The times when we don’t are when we are losing perspective. Look to the things you love and others who love the same things you do, and you will find the purple cow again.
    Good luck!
    “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.” – Erica Jong, in “How to Save Your Own Life”

34. Damn, Wil–
    I haven’t been over to the secret clubhouse in a while. (beeen busy in other blog circles) That’s one heck of a rhetorical sulk you’ve got up there.
    Honestly, it sounds like you’re on top of it. Knowing is half the battle and all.
    Your life may go ordinary on you now and then, y’know? That doesn’t mean that you need to feel ordinary. We are shaped and flavored by our life experiences, but we are not them and they are not us.
    Chew your cud like the others all you want; there’s no mistaking you’ll always be a purple cow.
    Flash and fire flare and fade. You know that.

35. “I’m struggling, creatively unfulfilled, filled with self-doubt and more than a little bit of self lothing. I’m right back where I was five years ago.”
    oh god, i know this kind of feeling. i’ve had it, and yeah, i got past it and all that, but still. it utterly fucking blows. i’m sorry.

36. *flare*
    As far as emails, I wouldn’t personally expect a reply for the simple reason that I am sure many other peeps sent you emails and it would just be crazy to think you had the time to respond to everyone. So… In the event that I ever do send an email I trust your judgement to wheather or not it warrants a response.
    And not to be redundant (redundant) I enjoy the family, acting, gaming- ahem, I enjoy all of your stories, but my lack of knowing what linux is and my lack of a passion for texas hold’em does make for the occasional dry read.
    Personally, it would be hawesome to see some of your fiction. You a great writer. Regardless as to wheather you feel that way or not.

37. wil: I often read your blog, and part of the reason I do is because you are a person of “ordinary fame.” That defines you, and you connect and share with others and the process makes you more accessible AND ordinary.
    Regardless, I read some of the best advice ever a few months ago that I want to share with you… “when we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”
    Your interpretaion of those words are what counts.
    Good luck!

38. Apropos of absolutely nothing: I keep imagining I see a teeny tiny purple cow standing there, looking up at the radio tower in your RFB logo…

39. OK, the commentary has shifted a little from your original entry, but here goes. I never post pretty much anywhere, but as a mother who is going through some parallel struggles herself, I will borrow my husband’s advice and pass it to you: the best thing that you can provide your children (and family) is YOU. If you’re plugging along doing something that you are unhappy with, that unhappiness/anger/whatever WILL leak into the rest of your life, and your children (and family) WILL feel it and suffer. If you are happy in the “work” side of your life, that too will leak into your home, and everyone wins. Good luck – figuring this stuff out is TOUGH!

40. You may feel like you’re where you were five years ago, Wil, but you’re not. Look at you relationships with your family, your poker game and everything else that’s changed since then.
    Besides, you found your way back then, so you can do it now.
    Hang in there.

41. Well geez man if you haven’t figured it out already you’ve touched more lives than most by your life tales. I love reading them and have done so for a few years now. I’m glad you and Nerdy girl made up, and that no shit was jumped (I’m the dumb girl who needed clarification on the term “teh”) 😉 We all love you and support the hell out of you no matter what. Now whats going on with Kris???

42. Wil,
    A blog is for you; at least that’s how I view it. So, whatever you write, isn’t right or wrong. It just is.
    When I read your blog, if there is something that doesn’t interest me. I just wait til the next posting and read again. Sometimes what you write is ok, other times it’s outstanding. I don’t complain, because it’s YOUR blog, not mine.
    I understand wanting your audience to enjoy what you post, but you are right.. you have to please yourself.
    Like I said, It’s your blog.
    I feel it’s a privilege to be able to come and read it, given that some of what you share is very personal.
    I don’t think that because you haven’t gotten more work as an actor, that it means you’ve failed. How many actors are out there looking for work? I imagine it’s a tough fight! I also imagine when “they” tell you that you were great or whatever, that they mean it. It may be a tough choice on “them” to pick someone for the part that’s being auditioned for.
    But I also know, even though it might not be personal, it still feels personal at times, and it can be difficult not to take it personally.
    I feel for you.
    I, too, am the kind of person who can look at my life and think in my brain “I don’t have it so bad”, but I still feel shitty and indulge, ocassionally, in self pity. And even though someone has a problem that’s worse than yours, it doesn’t make your problems any less real.
    I admire your attitude. I admire how you want things to be different and want to do what it takes to change them.
    I feel badly that your step-sons father doesn’t do more for them financially. And I also think how lucky they are to have the love that you and Anne have for them.
    I wish I knew what to say to help you feel better, because I hate to see anybody down.
    Please know that you are in my thoughts.
    And keep up the good work.
    BTW, I loved your story from yesterday and am glad to hear your putting it in the 3rd person, and I can’t wait to read it. Is this going to be a book?
    KatieKatie

43. As a person learning to be a holistic doctor, it pains me when I realize that people are going through really hard times psychologically and spiritually and they somehow think it is something they can “pull themselves up by the bootstraps” and escape. Yeah, maybe that’s true. But if my experience and training have anything at all valuable to add it is that sometimes you need help to get out of a pattern – and sometimes that help comes in the form of professional and caring intervention from a healing source. For me, that source is usually Chinese in origin – acupuncture and herbs. Many people who read your blog are going to think I’m slightly crazy for all of this – and quite possibly you too. But, when I’ve felt really unbelievably stuck and unfulfilled and completely without any fucking purchase whatsoever, I’ve gone to talk to my Chinese doc, and we’ve done some work, and I’ve come out feeling like I can take on the situation in front of me. Because sometimes, man, our systems just get unbelievably fucked up and they need a little clearing before our crazy little minds can go to work.
    I know of some excellent practitioners in your neck of the woods. Not just any old acupuncturist will do for this kind of thing.
    Anyway, man, good post and keep working. You’re an excellent human being. That’s what matters.
    Eric in Portland, OR

44. Real life is hard sometimes. I empathize with where you’re at. The balancing act I try to do, and the one you’re trying to do, differ in specifics (I don’t have stepkids; I was never an actor) but are similar in emotional impact.
    For what it’s worth, I think your cow is plenty purple. I like reading what you have to say. Write what you want to write; it’s fun to get tiny peeks into your life and your mind.
    Keep breathing, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes that’s all one can do, and it’s enough. I hope things feel brighter for you soon.

45. Wil
    I’ve been reading for a while now (maybe 6 months), bought and loved Dancing Barefoot (especially the story about cleaning out your Aunt’s house. Read the story not long after I talked to my dad about my parents having to clean out my grandmother’s house). And I’m greatly looking forward to the next book.
    It’s interesting that it seems that when you’re down on yourself, you seem to be at least partly upset about how others see you and what others think about you. Maybe I’m wrong. It seems to me that you’re right that you’re not going to please everyone. And trying to is just going to set you up for failure. But, additionally, relying on what others think about you, what you’re doing, what you’re thinking, how you’re making a living, how you’re spending your time is also going to set you up for failure.
    As people, we’re a screwed up mess. Relying on the opinions of others to justify who you are or what you’re worth is always going to let you down. So, don’t do it. Don’t worry about what other people think.
    Love your family. Play with your kids and your dogs. Do what you have to to pay the bills. Have fun. Or, to put it into some terms that that I cam up with in college and continue to come back to whenever I get to wondering just how it is that I’m doing in this life: Work hard, play hard, sleep hard, study hard, pray hard.
    As I said, maybe I’m wrong, but it’s what works for me.
    And keep on blogging what you want and what you feel. I enjoy all of it.
    Keep flying.

46. I know I’m not the only one who reads this blog from a feed, by the time I read it and think of a comment, someone else has said it faster and better. I still read and enjoy it, but I rarely come to the official WWdN site.
    Something to consider too, is that you tend to hear from the tails of the bellcurve- those who love your blog and those who hate it. It’s always been my experiance that people will go to more lengths to complain than they will to compliment.
    If this isn’t working for you, change it. I would bet though- for every person who has had something bad to say, there are 5-10 more like me, who enjoy most of what you write and just don’t feel witty enough to let you know how much.
    Susan

47. How does it feel to be awake, artist? The pain is your purple cow. Pass the heroin this way.

48. I found your site a few days ago. Not bad. Kind of depressing here today though. Sounds like it’s time for you to do something new. Doesn’t matter what, just shake things up a little. You need to step outside of the rut you’ve put yourself in.
    Most importantly though… Stop listening to morons like me you meet on the internet.
    Good luck. Now logoff and go do something.

49. Hey, you know what?
    This is YOUR BLOG. We read it because it is funny and witty and cool. And because we are whackos who want to get to know Wil Wheaton. But I digress.
    You are one of the coolest celebs/actors/bloggers evar. And BTW, there is a reference to you on Fark today.
    Who else on Fark has their own category? ONLY YOU, WIL! So, if that isn’t a purple cow, I don’t know what is!
    Rock on.And write what you know. Not what people “want” to hear. It is all about you!

50. I saw the following you posted in response to Nerdy Girl (at least I think that’s who it was):
    “To extend the Purple Cow a little more: I used to feel extraordinary, and recently I just feel ordinary. I don’t like feeling average, and now that I’ve identified that feeling, I can get down to doing something about it. ”
    That’s so awesome! I’m the same way.. once I pinpoint the root of the problem, it’s a huge relief because I know I can begin to do something about it.
    Good luck!
    Katie

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