The Mind of Geralt

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It ain’t easy being a witcher.  Or The Witcher, if you’re being honorific.  Geralt has gone through some pretty harrowing ordeals, including, but unbelievably not limited to, being murdered by an angry mob.  He’s lived a life surrounded by death and destruction, while being looked down upon by some of the very people that hire him, for being a “non-human.”  As if this were not enough, he’s lost most of his kith and kin, to battle, age, or otherwise.  Suffice it to say, Geralt’s life is not a happy ray of sunshine.

There are people who go through hardship sometimes, and then there are people who live through hardship every day.  Hardship has a way of, well…hardening you.  Leaving you more emotionally distant, more cynical, more withdrawn.  It’s a form of self defense, to hold everyone at a distant and keep yourself from feeling too much.  Geralt has a very gruff exterior, and he lets few people see past that rough outer wall.  Make no mistake, though, there’s still a person behind there, just like there is for anyone who keeps their guard up all the time.

Sometimes keeping your guard up is a matter of survival, but other times, it can be based upon the fear of being betrayed or wounded once again.  Geralt himself realizes his need for some sort of kin, setting him on the quest we find him in Wild Hunt, the search for his protege, Ciri.  There aren’t many witchers left, and he’s realizing that existing as an island is not going to work forever.

Geralt’s woes are, unlike some brooding anti-heroes, not self-inflicted.  He was thrown into his training without much discussion on his part.  He was mutated, trained, and imbued with powerful abilities, but they also turned him into something non-human, something that people would shun and fear.  His struggle to find his place in the world has given him a checkered past that he must live with every day.

If we want to be more like Geralt, we need to take in that strong sense of self sufficiency to heart.  We need to cultivate a measured, cautious attitude, and keep our emotions from getting away from us.  At the same time, we need to remember to leave space behind our walls for the people that have earned our trust, and remember the beneficial values of brotherhood and family.

In addition to developing our mutant physical strength, we must develop inner strength.  Train yourself on removing yourself emotionally from a situation, so you can use better judgement in your interpretation of it.  That’s not to say you should try to suppress your emotions, as that can get unhealthy.  Instead, you need to realize that allowing your emotions to control you when making a decision can be dangerous.  Look at the situation from the outside, in the position of a disconnected observer, and see if that changes your views on the subject.

In dealing with people, remember that we are all, in reality, in it for “ourselves.”  Even the people who do nice things do them because it makes them feel nice.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, and hey, we all do it!  But weigh this when considering what other people ask of you.  Loyalty and comraderie are powerful bonds, but make sure you give them to people who earn them, not just people who ask for them.

In the end, Geralt is an incredibly powerful individual.  Even Geralt needs other people, though, companions to fight alongside, and for.  Try to strike that balance of keeping your realist worldview, while still allowing people in when they deserve it.  Find your own wolf den to be a part of, and share your strength as you are able.

That’s it for Geralt!  Hope you all enjoyed the first character on the new schedule!  I’ll be back on Monday with a new one, but before that, we’ve got a video to go live on Saturday!  I’ll see you then!  Until then, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace