Virtues of the Virtual

We frequently distinguish between the real and the virtual worlds but in the blogosphere I think the two are inextricably linked. I put a little bit of myself on this blog and leave it out there for the world to see. Some of the world drops by and leaves footprints on my comments page. I follow those footprints in various directions, walk around in cyber-circles but end up travelling a great deal. And in all this, I learn. I empathise. I react. I smile. And when the cyber-circles come knocking on my door with tags and blessings for me, I am humbled, grateful and realise why is is the world wide web. I am stuck in it. And I mean that in the best way possible.

So what is this blog blessing all about? I quote:

...it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking within, we look
outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for one blog friend. By
participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing
feel valued and appreciated, but we have some fun too.in terms of seeing how far
around the world the bloggin’ blessings can travel a and how many people can be
blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their
sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a
comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!

So who do I want to shower with blessings? The bloggers I regularly interact with know exactly how I feel about them and their writing through my comments. So this time I will 'bless' two new people.

Kathy doesn't know me, but I read her blog everyday. Caring for a father from whom Alzheimer's Disease has claimed his memory but not his sense of humour, Kathy always sees the silver lining and I wish her eternal strength to do what she is doing.

Riverbend writes only occasionally, but even so she reminds of the indomitable nature of the human spirit. Now that she has escaped war-ravaged Iraq as a refugee in Syria, she is 'free', but bears the scars of watching her home turn into a war zone. I hope she is blessed with peace and healing after all she has been through.

Neither Kathy nor Riverbend probably know I exist. But my prayers for them are a sign of how the virtual world can evoke real emotions, and how this 'web' holds us all together.