I’ve been thinking about the fact that the internet has really changed our lives, mostly for the better. Now when my husband I I remember something differently, we don’t have to hash over who remembers better, we just look it up on the web. When we need a piece of information, we can look it up instantaneously. When our daughter was leaving for Blogher, we were able to see what the hotel she is staying at looks like. We can connect with our kids when we or they are far away and stay in touch with old friends, complete with pictures.
But let it go down for even a half hour and suddenly we are cut off from the world. Suddenly it is as if we are now living on a desert island. When we get to a remote location and the wireless is unreliable, we are disappointed. Between the internet and our cellphones not only may we be connected all the time, but we want to be connected all the time!
And the connections now are not only with our family and friends- they are with our news sources and information sources and that new category of friends, our blog friends. Suddenly we not only know a whole lot about lots of people who live really far away from us, but we go through their happy times and sad times, their anger and frustrations, their failures and their triumphs with them. Not only that, we can see and be part of a community of support. Suddenly we are seeing the same people again and again giving support to others, writing kind messages, sharing difficult times. And we are not limited by time or space.
A long time ago, when I was a little girl, I tried to understand how it could possibly be that G-d could hear everyone’s prayers. I knew there were a lot of people in the world and when I listen, I usually can hear, or at least pay attention to only one person at a time. Now I am beginning to understand that a type of communication is possible that knows no bounds– not time, not space. And it is possible to feel the love that has traveled through cyberspace and arrived just as powerful as it was when it was sent.
And maybe in this way, we act as messengers, increasing the good in the universe by giving unconditional support and love to people we have met only through their words.
In the past year or two I have become acquainted with a number of women who write very well. They are clever, humorous, poetic, and deep. It is a privilege to be part of their community.
(Oh, and we still have some spaces left on the August 20th trip to Beijing.)
