I used to think the Internet a cold, uninhabitable place. A lonely hearts club. A place for the downtrodden who had no luck in "real" life for sustaining relationships. A place where those who were used to abandonment could do so with some degree of anonymity.
Well, that's true. Yes, entirely true. There are those who "like" you on Facebook. Those who "love this!!!!"
Those who admire and compliment and gush unnecessarily. Those who seek council then turn against you all cliquishly as if they still attended high school.
But.
There are also real folks out there. Brought together through a strange medium who otherwise would not have met. You and they bond, perhaps exchange emails, phone calls, gifts through the mail. These people are like you. Compassionate and caring. They like the connection to kindred souls the Internet brings. Well isn't that just like life? You don't necessarily meet the most ideal people in the flesh all the time either. Sometimes you meet people in life who make your skin crawl. Who make you feel like you just don't want to be around their scarred energy.
Well I've discovered something else.
I happen to have made the best connections as a result of this medium. I've travelled to far flung cities to meet with them in fact. And you know something? They seem to be the people that I miss the most in my everyday life. I miss the new found friendships, the ones forged with a common bond that originated the whole thing to begin with.
Yes I adore my soon to be husband with my very last breath. My children too. Some may argue that those people should be enough but I disagree. (All due respect to the ones I love.)
Families can sometimes be created. The choosing of such people is as entirely conscious as you wish it to be. Being blood relation to another does not immediately qualify as family. Family is listening, caring, going out on a limb. This crazy and wild Internet has introduced me to some family that I otherwise would not have known.
Those people know who they are. This post isn't to pat the backs of some fellow bloggers or to boost the egos of some wannabe artists. This is a straight shooting message to those of you who are looking for heartfelt connection. It isn't by sheer accident that you read this. It isn't by sheer accident that you took that trip. It's about recognizing that as humans we all just need a way to reach out emotionally to another and be understood.
It's why we blog.
It's why we travel.
It's why we create our art through paint or photograph.
It's why.
Simply why.
Because it is there. Waiting. So I leave you with this thought...a question really...what would you have done with yourself if there had been no Internet connectivity?
I wouldn't have travelled to Florida, Vancouver, Arizona, New York, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Nova Scotia, Jordan. And boy would I have missed out on some major family reunions.
Here's to the open highway, that web that leads us back to ourselves and one another.
xo
Love,
Gillian
I love that you've got a feather for your image. Love that. Love this true, true post.
The night after my mom went into the hospital, a few hours before they moved her to ICU, she called me. 1:30 in the morning. Hysterical, unable to breath, nurses paying no attention. I have this stupid panic disorder & felt a huge anxiety attack coming, but I had to go, so I took my meds & found my way to Facebook, thinking to spend a few moments trying to calm down. By then it was almost 2 a.m. And one of my closest online friends was up and on FB also. Chatting with her brother. She talked to me & waited with me until I felt able to leave the house, she & her brother said a prayer for me.
I often think of leaving FB, it often drives me nuts, but I remember that night and the true friendship & love that was waiting there, and I stay.
Insert gushing over this blogpost right here. Cause I am.
xoxo
Posted by: Debi | June 23, 2011 at 12:33 AM
Well said! I so agree!
My blog has really given me the opportunity to travel and meet people with whom I have formed heartfelt, sincere and genuine connections.
At the end of the day, the virtual world is as real as you want it to be!
Posted by: Preeti Shenoy | June 23, 2011 at 12:37 AM
mmm.... love your writing...your heart... your view on life!
and yes! it is what it is. sometimes we have a connection with someone, and sometimes we don't. I love blogging because the people i connect with truly sees me for me. it is honest, not pretending to be someone you are not, and utterly heartwarming to know that your friend really see you. was it not for the internet, Darlene (living in Edmonton Canada), would not have been able to found out if her parents' house burnt down... i live in cape town, south africa, and my dad lives in her parent's town, she sent me their address, he had a look and i could tell her their house was still standing... the world is sooo small...and reachable... mmmm... connection... i think that is what it is for me... connection... xx
Posted by: linni | June 23, 2011 at 07:09 AM
It's another way to communicate and connect. There is also something spiritual about cyber space. Ya know? While I do love positive feedback it's more about sharing the love.
Oh and I do love you and yours
dearest ones.
muah
Posted by: gemma | June 23, 2011 at 08:57 PM
Gillian, I've missed you! Didn't know you were in this address until Preeti linked me to this post. Actually went to your old address recently but found an empty page.
Great post, pretty sure we can all relate to what you say there.
Posted by: devil mood | June 24, 2011 at 06:31 PM
though we live fairly close to one another, I never would have met you if it hadn't been for the internet. ♥
Posted by: Sherry Smyth | June 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM