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I have been trying meditation for my anxiety. I have been using the Calm app to teach me meditation. It took time for meditation to start working. Meditation requires patience which can be difficult for someone like me who tends to not take time to sit still and relax. In a way, meditation is like The Last Guardian because the more patience you have with Trico in the game, the easier the game gets just as meditation gets easier with patience.

Meditation Struggles

The struggles began when I started my first meditation. I picked up a class targeted for anxiety instead of a beginner’s course so it did feel frustrating. I tried to do what they said and close my eyes and relax. But the meditation was almost 13 minutes. For someone that’s only done meditation a couple of times, that is a long time to sit there.

So what happened? Well first I decided to do it outside when it was hot so I got overheated. Then I just started feeling restless just sitting there doing nothing. I just did not want to sit still.

Trico Struggles

The beginning stages of handling Trico can also be frustrating. First, you have to get Trico to trust you and he just gets angry. You have to help him out of his chains and feed him so he knows you are not a threat. He learns to follow you, but he is still unsure of you. I gained his trust faster by petting him a lot which seems to make him like you more. I also purposefully looked out for treats because he liked them so much.

Trico also was afraid of water at first. He’s this big animal but water terrifies him. I had to coax him down with food and suddenly the water was not so bad anymore because it had tasty treats!

Meditation Training

So I switched to the 7 Days of Calm beginner session which helped me. I slowly understood how to meditate and how to stay patient. The narrator is aware that restlessness is common so they encourage through the restlessness.

The app is also encouraging because it lets you like your favorite sessions. It also has day streaks of how long you have been meditating and every sessions ends with a beautiful quote. Then there are also daily sessions which are really enjoyable and want you to come back every day.

Trico Training

Once you get far enough in the game, you can teach Trico commands. These can be used to help you get up to platforms that you cannot reach or jump across large chasms.

But, Trico is a wild animal so he may not want to do what you say. However, I found that through attention, such as pets and treats, he would respond to me faster and would help me faster. I would say he might be close to training a real animal.

Meditation Now

I have been doing meditation every day. If I do not do it first thing in the morning, I do it at night before bed. I am on the 21 Days of Calm which is the intermediate course and then from there I will focus on the anxiety courses. It does help me relax and I am trying to take what I learn from the meditation sessions and incorporate them into my life.

A common theme throughout meditation is patience and non-judgement. I have learned to be patient with my anxiety and I have learned to not judge my brain when it gets anxious. Instead I am more compassionate which helps my brain relax faster.

Trico at The End of the Game

Trico was well-trained by the end of the game. My patience and understanding of Trico led me to have a close bond with Trico. Trico would quickly respond to my commands and teamwork led me to complete the game and Trico’s story. I did not struggle with Trico not listening to me because I gave him attention throughout the game even when I did not have to.

Calm Future

I am hoping that through meditation and therapy I will be able to take better care of my anxiety. I want to be more patient with my anxiety and meditation is helping. I would recommend the Calm app and might make a future post about it!

What video game taught you the importance of patience?

Intro

Trico and I did not get off to a good start. Trico was wounded and hungry so he freaked whenever I went near him. I fed him and he eventually trusted me. I was able to remove the arrows from him and remove his chain that was tying him down.

Once Trico was free, he would respond to his name. I also spend a few minutes petting his head because that was his favorite spot. I felt bad that poor Trico was left abandoned and hungry so I wanted to make sure that he got lots of love and food from me. I tried to find every food barrel in the game to make him happy.

Trico and I started to trust each other more. I had to rely on him to solve puzzles in the game and he relied on me to give him food and pets. Trico especially loves having his head petted and I love spoiling him so we quickly became close.

Trico and Bonding

Trico and I are actually very alike. He was prone to panicking and I have anxiety. I began to pick up on what would make him panic and what would calm him down, just as I have picked up on what makes me panic and what calms me down.

Trico would panic when enemies would attack me or attack him. He would fly into a rage and take down the enemies. But, he would freak out for a few minutes afterwards until he received lots of pets and I removed the arrows from his body. Apparently if you wait he can calm himself down, but there was no way I was going to leave Trico alone while he was panicking. Besides, Trico does not like being left alone. If I went into a small hole, he would stick his head in the hole and paw for me and whine. I would feel so bad but I needed to do the puzzle so I had to leave him.

Because I gave Trico so many pets and we became close, training him was not too hard. You train Trico to do commands to help with puzzles. But, Trico is a wild animal. So he may not listen or he might do his own thing instead. I found that because I bonded with him early on he would listen to me and be more eager to help me out.

Trico and Friends

My friend that I mentioned in my first blog post came over my house so we could cook dinner, make our strawberry cake, and play games. I wanted him to play this game while he was at my house because I wanted him to meet Trico. He loved Trico just as much as I did.

When he played, it was actually at a part where we were high up and could easily fall. It freaked me out; most of the time I was hiding behind my friend or gripping his arm while he played because I was scared of us falling.

We both had to trust Trico and this is where things got interesting. At one point, we were stuck because we could not figure out how to get past a section and we kept falling. We would switch the controller any time we failed or got stuck. When I took control, we saw Trico jump and he just kept making noises. I had no idea what was going on, but my friend said that Trico was telling me to jump. I took a chance and he caught me at the last minute. My friend and I cheered and sighed with relief that we were safe.

Ending

Just like all adventures, eventually my adventure with Trico came to an end. I will not spoil the ending for anyone or major plot points because I encourage you all to play this game for yourself. I cried at the credits because I remembered my journey with Trico and I missed him already. I was happy to see the story reach a conclusion, but I was also sad it was coming to a close. I loved The Last Guardian and Trico! It is easily one of my favorite games on the PS4!

Have you played The Last Guardian? What did you think of the game?

Category: The Last Guardian

Trico and Patience