I am beginning to write this article about 30 minutes prior to being a guest on a Blog Talk Radio show called Live With Belle Salisbury. I am typing these words on a well worn black and white keyboard of a slim silver lap top computer and when the blog entry is complete, it will go out all over cyber space where anyone who has access can read it. They may, like me, be stretched out in bed, or at their dining room table, or in a coffee shop somewhere in the world and our connection; besides being that of the heart, will be technologically driven.  I consider, having grown up in the 1960’s and 70’s, that this would have been sci-fi, incredibly Star Trek; much like Tomorrowland that I witnessed, enraptured when my family and I went to the World’s Fair in NY in both 1964 and 1965.

Now we take this stuff for granted. Many of the advances we enjoy were not even conceived of when I was born in 1958, or they were thought so much ahead into the future as to be impossible in my lifetime. Shows like The Jetsons and Lost In Space made it seem even farther into the future.

Speaking with Belle tonight reminded me that we are all intricately connected, since she and I have never met face to face, but became Facebook friends and then I began to write for her magazine called Bellesprit. She is a kindred spirit/soul sister who through wires and circuitry has entered my world. Some of her listeners joined us in the chat room; a virtual coffee klatch, and others called in to speak voice to voice. More than five decades ago, when I was born, I would have had no frame of reference for such encounters. Ten years ago, many people would have believed that those who would talk to people they didn’t know, in chat rooms, were loners who had no in-person friends.  I am as far from fitting into that category as could be. Today, social media brings people together who would otherwise never have had the chance to know each other. What a blessing that is, since we now have the opportunity to support, encourage and inspire folks on the other side of the planet. It is where we get news about births and deaths, weddings and separations, graduations and dance recitals, travel plans and weather reports. We are called on to pray for and send good mojo to those who request it. It might not feel warm and fuzzy on the surface, but is a lifeline for many. Facebook friends, while they may not be part of our inner circle of face to face peeps, are no less valid if there is mutual concern for each others’ well being. It expands our definition of what community means and widens our circle of compassion and acceptance.

http://tobtr.com/s/5544703 Live With Belle Salisbury

www.bellesprit.com  Bellesprit Magazine