Peterson

At the end of a long day, it can be difficult to unwind. Even going to sleep is difficult, as I am still thinking about work at bedtime. My mind ruminates over tasks accomplished, and anxiety flares over work to be done the following day.

In years past, I would turn to alcohol to mellow me out. Those days, however, are behind me. I do not drink, but my busy mind remains.

Thankfully, I have found a YouTube channel that calms me. It is called Aurateur, named after the man who appears on the channel.

This YouTuber plays the video game “Mario Maker” on his channel. As he plays, his image appears at the bottom left corner of the screen. And that is about it.

Six days a week, at 8 p.m., a new video is ready for viewing. We can see Aurateur play “Mario Maker,” comment on his gameplay and interact with other viewers. Most often, he plays by himself, but he sometimes competes against or cooperates with other players in games.

His commentary is most often monotone and his demeanor calm, except on the occasions when he is irritated with other gamers.

Watching his videos, I am relaxed. As I am not a gamer myself, I have no investment in his online success or failure. Also, I am not trying to learn anything from his excellent play. I am merely zoning out all of my day’s worries.

Best of all, his videos are dependable. I can always count on his 8 p.m. uploads, and I know they are there for me for 20 minutes of relaxation at day’s end.

— Erick Peterson, editor, Hermiston Herald