Lights on the path...
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly... what is essential is invisible to the eye."
That quote is from "The Little Prince" by Antione de Saint Exupery. It's always been one of my favorites, but not until I came online did it's true meaning become clear. In here, we do "see with our hearts"... there are no faces or expressions... no small gestures... just our words... from the heart.
There are those who seek a real time connection here. That is their right. One has to wonder at the logic of seeking real life in an unreal medium, but that is irrelevant. The number of online relationships that have successfully made the transition to real time are incredibly low, but that does not stop them from trying. More power to them. Those who have found what they seek, I congratulate you.
I have always believed that each person who enters our life does so for some reason. Even those we never see. The connections we have in here are no less real simply because we do not see each other. We still touch. Perhaps on a deeper level than we would be able to face to face.
I, on more than one occasion have backed away from relationships in here because of my r/l commitments. In a misguided effort to spare the other person and free them to seek r/l, I took something from them too. Because I could not be with them, face to face, I took away the only part of me that they were able to share. This... here. In doing this, I was conveying the message that what passes between people in here is somehow... less valid than r/l. That could not be farther from the truth.
To those of you who say, "I will not waste my time on any relationship that does not promise r/l,"... well... I ask you this. When you meet a person in r/l, do you immediately say, "I will not waste my time on any men under 6' tall... or any women over 120 pounds... or brunettes."... You get the point. In limiting your choices, you deny yourself the opportunity to grow as a human and you deprive yourself of the possible joy and wonder that new spirit might have brought into your existence.
To those of you with whom I've shared my heart, know that you have had a valuable impact on my life. I feel you just as strongly as if your hand were clasping mine. I carry the lessons I've learned from each of you with each breath I take.
It does not matter if the light shines from the one sitting next to you or through some fragile internet connection from thousands of miles away......
Embrace the lights.... cherish each and every one...
The path is dark without them...
I wish you well,
D
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