Graelwyn wrote:
It often can seem that life crushes those who least deserve it, removing their anchors one by one, removing the remaining dregs of hope from that which they clung to. The hardest thing to face is the fact that, as an onlooker, a face in the distance, there is nothing one can do except sit by observing in a helpless, angry silence. An anger at the injustice of life and it’s expectations. Some might say you cannot help another until you succeed in helping yourself, but as far as I am concerned, that is a pile of crap.
The chat phenomena never ceases to amaze me. People drift in and out, many existing to us for maybe an hour, maybe a day, then vanishing back into the world, leaving behind only a trace on our memory, maybe leaving no imprint at all. Some might as well have never existed. Yet, occasionally, we will find a few who remain in our minds long after they have ceased to visibly exist for us. Their past words, their personalities, their essence will pursue us relentlessly, long after they have left the scene, leaving us feeling bereft, almost cheated. I cannot help but feel that many opportunities are missed in these rooms. We allow the one or two people who might have been on the same wavelength, might have offered something of inherent value, to evade our grasp, then it is too late. They are gone. Gone to such a degree that one might as well be trying to capture the moon or the sun in their hands.
Nice post, very eruditely exposited too.
Personally, I wouldn't say that the whole chat/forum/IM phenomenon amazes me anymore because after being online for a while I have to come to accept online communication for what it is. Even so, I do still feel slightly jarred on occaision when you realise that people you have spoken to every day for 6 months or so suddenly seem to drift off the face of the earth. I think the most important thing is not to get too attached to online friends.