Life

"Listen with an open mind, but don't try to remember this stuff. There's no quiz at the end." Jack Kornfield







Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Listening... The Wooden Bowl

******************************Where we come from****************************** ***************************************************************************
A couple of years ago my daughter found the story below and E-mailed it to me... While it's not new, it was new to her...and to me. I have looked on the Internet for it and see that the author is unknown, I don't know if the added comments at the end are hers or not. It is a wonderful story of how two people suddenly heard how their actions were teaching their child a way of life. Perhaps it's a story I should have been able to hear years ago... I think one of the greatest gifts I was ever given was the gift of ears. Thank you from *The Eagles* music years ago, "Just because you can see the stars doesn't mean you can see the light". I was blind that way for so many years. ****************************************************************************
The Wooden Bowl I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now. A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.' So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded, 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. ' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
*************************************************************************** On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I still have to work at listening
And so it goes
I love you all, brinda
Namaste
Namaste

Sunday, November 28, 2010

How long is the rope?

******************************Where we come from****************************** ****************************************************************************

How long is the rope?.... I use that statement as a metaphor for life...how long is that rope, how long is life?

I truly became aware of my mortality at 15... I can't tell you why the realisation deep in my soul happened, but I had read a story of Mark Twain called The Mysterious Stranger and suddenly I understood. You see at 15, I could look back close to the beginning and see how long that had taken... but the rope stretched ahead into dim mist... no way to see the end from 15. I have searched since that day for and answer. I have used every way I could imagine looking for that answer... a large dose of LSD had me out of this body while sitting in a shop in Laguna Beach California circa 1970 watching Ram Dass and Timothy Leary. I have sat in a cave in the Mojave desert looking out into the night and scared the hell out of myself. Recently I have been to India and sat where Siddhartha sat 2600 years ago... and the answer for me is that the rope stretches to eternity. How long is eternity one might ask.... The answer I was given some years ago is that a bird flys dragging a silk scarf over a tall mountain once every thousand years...eventually that mountain will be wore away. That is eternity. This body will decay and fall away... but this body is not me, it is only a vehicle for me to pursue the goal of enlightenment.

May we all live with compassion

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving, "What a long strange trip it's been"

******************************Where we come from***************************

**************************************************************************** Yesterday was a holiday in the USA. For those around the world that aren't familiar with our Thanksgiving holiday... it's a celebration of the first successful year after our colonists came to the North American continent nearly 400 years ago. Today many of us use the holiday as a time to renew family ties culminating with a huge meal...{that we really don't need!}. It's also a time for some of us to take stock of our blessings and to give thanks for our lives and those that are in them. This past year has been one that has seen many changes in my lives. In that other life I was able to take a treasured pilgrimage to North East India where I could visit the four most important sites in Buddhism. I've been asked if I felt safe on that trip...I did. It was a private tour and except for two train trips I had a driver and a private car. My experience in travel suggests that along with common sense... learning how to say please and thank you in the local language makes a difference. Another change in that life....since I retired a couple of years ago I found I really had too much empty time on my hands so I took a part time job... it's just perfect for me. There have been changes here in Secondlife as well... paramount among those was the leaving of Poly from Benares. Poly spent over eighteen months as a manager here...eighteen months is a long time in Secondlife, but sometimes change is good and necessary...and it's important to know when it's time to move forward. Many of the residents that were here last year are still here and that tells me we are doing something right. We have had a couple return and I'm glad to see them. In closing this post... yesterday I commented on another blog about being thankful. I have been allowed to spend over 1300 days in this virtual world we call Secondlife. This past year saw me lose friends... and gain friends. I try to always keep in mind that there are over 6 billion people on our planet... the chances of meeting any one person are astronomical, and I have met so many wonderful people.

One line out of and old Grateful Dead song has been running through my head these past few hours, "What a long strange trip it's been"...and in keeping with, that I'm going to embed that song after the customary closing. And so it goes I love you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Love doesn't have to stop..

******************************Where we come from****************************** ***************************************************************************
As many of you perhaps know...I wasn't always a warm fuzzy person. I have tried so very hard these last twenty odd years to grow up. And yet I see so many of you that have grown up and become loving members of the world so early in your lives. The videos below are great examples of the loving view of the world that our missing Delinda had. Many thanks to Paisely Beebe for the original Tweet of the link to the video of Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque' and a special thank you to my friend Immy for the link I found on her Tweet first. Below is another video that so embodies the spirit I saw in my all too brief relationship with Delinda. Many thanks to Bixyl Shuftan , editor of The Second Life Newser, and Robert69 Little,the creator for this. We can have love, peace, compassion, and yes a few tears... And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

What do you think?

******************************Where we come from***************************** **************************************************************************

OK...Maybe it's just me.

I would suppose that most anything some one chooses to post in a blog is legal with the caveat that one must not libel. I, as a personal belief, always hope to speak the truth...for me that is an ethical issue, in other words I wouldn't want to post or repeat a post that I even suspected to be false.

I found two blog posts today that are diametrically opposite. I'll just post the links and ask that you that read these.... and tell me what you think? Take a moment, if you have a few seconds, comment. Which would you find fits how you want the world to be like.... (A) or (B)?

Thank you.

(A) http://dbarrie.posterous.com/more-insight-into-the-life-of-denise-williams

(B) http://sabreparabola.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-love-smell-of-desperation-in-morning.html

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Stuff... or fixing stuff I break, sometimes =^..^=

******************************Where we come from***************************** **************************************************************************** I'm always wondering if the magic and fascination I found in May 2007 will ever entirely leave me, the longer I'm in our virtual world the more I learn. I did purchase "The Official Guide" when I first joined and was promptly overwhelmed by most everything in that book.The stories of the early residents interested me...but it never occurred to me that one day I too could do some of the things I read about. While I've never taken formal classes... I was mentored by a couple of people over these years and I guess I can see The Benevolent Monarchy's position that one on one help simply won't scale.... but it's still the best way to learn.

Using what I learned!...A few days ago I found a prim just sticking out of the foundation of Vic's house... my OCD kicked in... nothing would do but I had to relocate that prim. Now it was a mega prim floor and almost exactly the same dimension as foundation so it needed to be set via numbers in edit...not by clics. That is until I wanted to test exactly how much more I needed to move it.....and clicked size! Yes, we now had a 10 meter prim instead of 20 meters! The good news? I knew how to fix all that, and for me today...that is the magic here. A little more of that magic was creating a waterfall with spray and water running out to the beach...yes, it's simple stuff....now =^..^=.

There are some I've helped over these years... I live by, *we teach best what we most need to learn*... and those I may have helped?.... that is small repayment for what I've been taught. I still love Secondlife... and yes, I whine about where we may be heading... but I hope the rest of you stick around long enough to learn to love this world as I do.

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Monday, November 22, 2010

People Watcher..."where we come from"...etc

******************************Where we come from**************************** **************************************************************************

Seen on the grid...It's your choice what's on the Internet...It's not your choice to remove that information.

You guys know by now how I feel about nooblets...it seems so easy for some of us to forget that we were all new once. I've never forgotten that feeling, it felt like the first day in a strange school all over again. I've also never forgotten the oldbie that took me under her virtual wing...she didn't give me freebies, she didn't do a lot of show and explain- what she did do was to make me feel "a part of". A few days ago I had gone to some Linden office hours to support a friend that was having some account problems. Now being a people watcher in that other life we lead, here in Secondlife I'm a profile reader, and I was struck by a profile I read from one that had been here a few years. The opening line? "I don't help noobs"... how comforting. First, I find that many nooblets don't know there is a profile text to read. Second, if they do read that profile....how comforting. {OK, I'm going to be and ass}....That is such and insensitive thing to say and I marvel that anyone with such and attitude bothers to come to a world like Secondlife..go play Doom or Halo or some of that!

While the roar has diminished lately... there has been a comment "war" going on at one of the widely read blogs. Now I'm usually the last to get any inside info...but I tend to always understand that there are commonly three truths to any subject. Your truth, my truth, and the truth...and there's always enough mistakes in judgement to go around. {If anyone is short of those mistakes-- call me, I've got a lot of left overs =^..^= }

Lastly... I got and "anonymous" blog comment a day or so ago where someone was offended, or freaked out by seeing the town they live in displayed in my usual format of "where we come from". Now I would never post an IP address here even though and IP address could be the same if a couple of people logged in from say the same college. I started including the "where we come from" format as a way to bring us together and have received good feedback from some of you. My guess is that a very very very small town in Australia has someone there that is likely the only person in that town in Secondlife....and the town is small enough that their neighbors probably know that anyway! I've posted this before...but just for the record. My IP address comes out in Santee California.... I live in Imperial Beach, that's 51 KMs away. Another friends address comes out as a city in another state for gosh sake. Hmmm...I guess this comes full circle to the opening line..."It's your choice what's on the Internet...It's not your choice to remove that information." If I want to keep my IP address secret? I can't click on a website. period. stop. At least with me I'm not selling that info =^..^=

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Delinda Dyrssen...I will miss you.

Today isn't a time for my usual format of, "Where we come from". Yesterday we all lost a part of Secondlife...Delinda Dyrssen is gone.

With the number of people in Secondlife, I would suspect that many of you wouldn't know who Delinda was... who she knew, {uncounted numbers of people}...or what she did in Secondlife.

Delinda was the heart and soul of live music in Secondlife... She ran "Live and kickin" for awhile, and if you haven't experienced live music here you are truly missing a great community. Community of one sort or another seems to be the key to remaining in Secondlife.

I met Delinda through a business arrangement I had with Paisely Beebe and Treet TV... we both came to Secondlife in early 2007, but I hadn't met her till a few months ago... such a delightful woman. I often wondered how she ever found time to chat/IM with so many of us.

While I will miss seeing those blue pop ups that would have told me Delinda is on line and I am saddened by our loss...my Buddhist roots tell me that while she has dropped that body...she will remain in our hearts.

Rather than use HTML links I'm going to just paste two links below from people that knew her more intimately than I.

http://tonightlivewithpaisleybeebe.com/2010/11/21/delinda/ http://dbarrie.posterous.com/in-memory-of-denise-l-willaims Delinda will remain always in my heart...and my friends list

And so it goes

Delinda... I will remember you, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Friday, November 19, 2010

The Gift...

*****************************Where we come from************************** *****************************************************************************
Old John....
I sat and looked at that heading for a bit...It's rather odd for me to see John as "Old John". A little background maybe.... I've lived for the last twenty years at the same address and when I first came here I was in my late forties and John was around seventy. John lives by himself and is one of the kindest, most gentle, and quiet men I've ever known... always a smile and a wave whenever he sees you... Perhaps a month ago I saw John walking down the walk and for the first time I saw him as "Old John". I stopped for a minute and after a hello I asked John how old he was. Now that question isn't that intrusive when it's asked by someone relatively close to your own age... so John looked at me, a little puzzled for a few seconds, and said slowly, "Eighty nine". {I think}
I went about my business and thought about his answer for maybe a minute and then promptly forgot about it. This evening, as I walked to the laundry room, there was John walking slowly towards me in the darkness, the street lit only by a distant streetlight. As I came close I saw John just stop and slowly look up, I'm not sure he even recognised me. I could almost see the slowness of his thoughts and reactions... and suddenly he became "Old John", and old man at the end of his life.
You see... I came face to face at that moment with the true reality of getting old. I have spoken before that in the life that John and I inhabit... we are both invisible. You that read this, how much intimate time do you spend with old people? Very little I suspect...it's the way of the western world.
We, in virtual worlds, are given such a gift... we get to be young for so much longer. In virtual worlds I'm no longer invisible... here I'm respected and loved. There will come a time of sadness, Secondlife will someday no longer exist, it's the way of things. But when that day comes... there will be other worlds... there will always be other worlds. Just as humans received the gift of fire and we have retained that gift... we will forever have virtual worlds.
What a magical gift
And so it goes
My love to you all, brinda
Namaste
नमस्ते


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Does Land Equal Commitment Here?

******************************Where we come from****************************** ***************************************************************************

I wonder why some of us make a statement of apparent commitment in Secondlife to the degree we invest a portion of our other lives financial resources here, while there are others that surely seem to be as committed by virtue of being in world longer than I who remain almost proudly virtually homeless. I grant that we have no need for a place to sleep here, or to cook...even though a good friend of mine has absolutely everything in her Secondlife home that she has in her other world.

I bought my first land and my first house just a couple weeks after I came to this world. I have maintained a "place" in Secondlife continuously since that day... I wanted a place to feel I belonged... a place to set out some of my virtual possessions so I could see them. Since the earliest days Benares has maintained a guest house so that any of our female visitors could have that same feeling of belonging...more about that below.

I recently counseled one of my young friends about the benefits of having her own "cave". There is a great deal of perceived personal power in Secondlife women having their own place... it's the same power that women get in our other life by being self sufficient. Men treat women very differently when they see that the woman is doing just fine all by themselves.

I know The Benevolent Monarchy understands the power of land ownership and it's relationship to commitment here... they brought out the Linden homes this past year or so. Now I can dance on both sides of that... First, giving out those pitiful 512 "rabbit warrens"---it was a slap in the face of private land sellers as well as it left a terrible impression of what land ownership really is. Second, if I had been doing it, I would have offered that deal for 30 days and then an offer of a discounted mainland parcel for say 6 months. There is a huge glut of Linden land empty and that would be a way to get some people back onto the mainland. As with so much of what TBM does, it seems that they only start projects... and never bother to really take a look at how those projects are doing and perhaps make improvements as necessary.

I suppose land ownership in Secondlife comes down to that thing that runs all worlds... personal preferences. It is a wonder to me that a reasonably bright stable person would bother to invest nearly six thousand dollars a year in pixels. Oh well, my children have been told that I plan on enjoying my life...and if there is anything left over they are welcome to it =^..^=

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

"Local News"

******************************Where we come from**************************** *************************************************************************** Lynn has returned to Benares! She and I rezzed her house again last week... got her off of viewer 2.ought oh and happy here again! She's just another person that's had to deal with The Benevolent Monarchy {TBM} and the so called support system...that system kept her out of Secondlife for over a month. It makes me wonder why TBM can't see that when they lock someone out... they are costing that person real money.******************* Victoria has set up a new house as well... really nice place. We had to trim a few prims off of it to make the footprint fit... quite common to build houses with a large foundation so you can set it part way into a parcel that's not flat. This house was a great choice I think...I'm amazed at the quality of houses today as well as the primfficiency we see.************** Raven and Tricky have moved to the East Shore...cute place and good neighbors with Kattie and Jakob on either side. That means we have a very cool parcel on West Shore available now.***** I want to include an image of Marianelas place out East (below). Now I've never looked to see if this was her creation...certainly it's her idea. You see the ground floor is an aquarium! Now none of this really surprises me you see, because Marianela is a clothing designer who's creations are fabulous. I returned to her shop recently for a formal gown... I was invited to a function for The Palias magazine a few days ago... and I really was very under dressed :-) {just like my other life!}. Here's a SLurl to her shop at Hidden Treasures.......... I was extremely pleased and I tend to be much more critical than necessary!************ Last minute notes...Krasin is going give up her private parcel for now... I'm happy to announce she's going to be a new mother! And as I was writing this Sophie dropped in to say hello... She came here 350 days ago and says she still loves it every bit as much as she did on day one! Last but not the least...My West sim twosome of Porter and loegan have a joint music venture at The Mill. You can check with either of them inworld for show schedules...although last evening I found several people there just jamming, playing trivia, and dancing.*****************

My friend Twinkle has been inworld a little more often recently =^..^=. You know, a lot of us have made friendships in Secondlife that have gone on for a a long time. Just another place I feel so blessed...there are four of us that came here in 2007... Twin, Lala, Ling, and myself. I fully expect us to remain in Secondlife until that day someone turns off the last server....or then I think I'll do like my friend Drew... Drew still has and Alt on one of the old Help Islands... and that alt will never come to the mainland, those pixels were deleted the day TBM turned off those servers.

And so it goes

I love you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

How can I not help?

No, "Where we come from" on this post...and this will be a short.

I generally avoid donations for most any cause...because... well one never knows how much of the money actually ends up where the help is needed. In this case I've made an exception. A couple of days ago an Indonesian school teacher friend of mine, Ines Ogura, sent me and IM asking me if she could possibly send me a notice. Now that says a lot about the culture of her country... when's the last time anyone "asked" you if they could send you something in Secondlife? Now I confess that I've had so much going on in all my lives I didn't get to this site till this evening....and now there is only one day left of this exhibition. Last showing will be tomorrow at 7PM SLT.... I plan on being there. Here's the SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Madhupak/239/205/88/ ************************ And here is a link to one of the news stories... http://www.newsmild.com/refugees-moved-after-strong-indonesian-eruption

Perhaps together we can ease the pain of just one person, I think it's worth the chance

Please

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Monday, November 15, 2010

Growing Up...

******************************Where we come from****************************** *****************************************************************************
I'm sure we've all heard this question from nooblets {and may have asked it ourselves when we were new}, "How do you play this game?". The answer of course is that Secondlife isn't a game...it is a second life. Now all lives come with learning curves...some of us learn very quickly, others not so fast. The end point differs and sometimes goes "on hold" for awhile.
I am a people watcher...I wasn't for the first part of my life but in my early thirties something unknown happened and there was that mental "click"..suddenly I was able to get enough out of me to be able to see the world and it's inhabitants from a more objective point of view. Today I love to be around people long enough to see them grow. There is often that quick growth with a nooblet that allows us to watch them learn to walk, dress, rezz a box, make a land mark...all the easy stuff we seem to be capable of mastering in our first few days or weeks. Sometimes I also get the chance to watch truly phenomenal changes in people that have hung around here for a few years. Dramatic change for adults isn't Fast Easy Fun {thank you Mr. Rosedale}, that kind of change is difficult at best and often more than a little scary for us. I do believe that virtual worlds do offer us a chance to more easily facilitate those changes we need.

One of the criteria for legal entry into Secondlife is to be eighteen years old...eighteen says we are legally adults... it turns out that often the gap between being legally adult and the reality of adulthood is a very deep chasm. And every now and then... I get to watch someone leap that chasm.

And for that gift I am truly grateful

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bumper Stickers, Profiles, & Blogs...

******************************Where we come from******************************

************************************************************************** On the way to work today I was noticing bumper stickers on cars... and that started me thinking about what bumper stickers and Secondlife profile text might have in common. I think both tell me a lot about a person, in Secondlife even the total absence of text may say something. Now keep in mind that I'm a linear thinker {plays all bloody heck with creativity!} so my thoughts then went to what do our blogs say about us? A lot I suspect. One of our very controversial bloggers can be viewed as irrational and narrowly opinionated at times...but often I see a genuine care about the direction the Secondlife world is headed...do I agree with all that's said?

In a word, No..... But I do read the posts.

Yesterday I saw a Tweet by Aeonix Aeon decrying what he/she sees as a deliberate attempt on the part of many of us to impede the future growth of Secondlife by our refusal to use viewer 2.ought oh. First...If it takes that many words to express ones feelings? You lose your audience. Second...I don't see the refusal of so many tens of thousands of us to refuse to use that interface as and impediment to Secondlife growth. Speaking solely for myself...I see my refusal to use viewer 2.ought oh as a choice I make as a CUSTOMER of Linden Lab. I want to use an interface that makes me happy...after all, I'm paying part of their wages. And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

Friday, November 12, 2010

Ghosts in the Machine

*****************************Where we come from***************************

***************************************************************************

Working with new people...

Over the years I have occasionally come across a few lines on a Google page left by some of the older original members of Secondlife. While we still have a few of the oldbies left, as well as a very few of the charter members, there were hundreds that came in those earliest days. Most of those early members are gone today, leaving only 'The ghost in the machine'.... dim memories if anyone still here remembers at all.

Some months ago I contacted Pituca Fairchang, one of those early members, about continuing her blog. Her blog documented much of those early days with images and text... it was fantastic to see and read first hand what it was like in 2003. Pituca did do a couple more posts after we chatted but it was obvious that her heart just wasn't in it. If you read her profile and see what she had to say about Garth, the real life husband she had met here I think you will understand why. Often it becomes time to just gently let go.

As far as I know the single most definitive history of Secondlife written about some of the people and all of those earliest regions has been compiled by Lalo Telling, it's truly and exhaustive work and always an interesting read. ***********

My opening line to this post was, "Working with new people".

It's usually a complete surprise to new people that first..Secondlife has been around for 8 years... and second, that we have a documented history. If you haven't thought about it... save your images. We have no way of knowing how long this world will be here... and I can tell you from my experience that those images I saved from 2007 are vastly more important to me today than they were at the moment I took them. So many of the people in the few images I did save bring wonderful memories. The rest? Ghosts in the machine

And so it goes

I love you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Community....How may I help?

******************************Where we come from*************************** Sunday, I spoke of the magic I still find in Secondlife. Not long ago AlexHayden Junibalya asked me on Twitter if I was OK...He seemed to feel that a recent post of mine was somewhat despondent {and he may well have been correct!}.

This has been a year of much change for me here in Secondlife...what with the forced demise of the Secondlife Mentors Group last December, the closing of the former Help Island system, soon coupled with the disastrous (in my opinion) viewer I call 2.ought oh.... it has become really difficult to work with those just starting out in Secondlife. While there are those voices that see those of us that enjoy working with nooblets as a way to elevate our perceived low self esteem... I see the help I may have given as simply a way to repay the help, advice, and sense of belonging that was so freely offered to me 1246 days ago.

Some of that continuing magic comes from seeing new people do those things we later do almost without thought... simple things... remember how you felt that first time you heard "boom" and saw a box appear? Things like just automatically detaching that box you forgot to open and opening it on the land? BTW Lindens, thank you for the default "wear" now being the hand instead of the head, although I do miss the occasional nooblet running around with a torch. =^..^=

I have gained a further sense of magic by becoming a part of both the Secondlife community as well as our community at Benares. The Secondlife community I feel a part of from sharing the thoughts and feelings of those whose blogs and Twitter feeds I read... how could one not feel the excitement of Josues life today? My community at Benares... after a few years with some of them... I understand a lot of what goes on in that other life we live... the good times, the pain of jobs lost, homes lost, marriages failed, and marriages saved as well... Grand children born, and parents that pass on, our lives entwine.

I have been able also to take comfort in some of the things those in my community have spoken about when I do voice those despondent feelings I sometimes get about the direction this virtual world may be headed. Rather than try to link...I'de like to just reprint two recent comments:

From soror: Brinda, please don't worry...the people who love building and creating are still in the Metaverse, some of us have just chosen a grid with nicer 'bosses' and lower prices... InWorldz is one of several.... so we are just the diaspora.....blown out across worlds to enrich and colour other grids.... By sororNishi on This is a loss to all of us... on 7/27/10

And from Alex: Cubey's story is one possible outcome of the future...but the great thing about future events Brinda, is that they are not written in stone. When the last day comes..I'll visit as many places on my landmark list as possible. I'll indulge myself in the memories that each place will bring and I'll raise a virtual glass at each one. And once I'm done, I'll head home. To Bliss. And I'll sit on the deck of my little home and set the environment controls to sunset, set a smile on AlexHayden's face as darkness falls.... Because I'll be safe in the knowledge that even though the virtual world I know is gone, the friendships I've made will still be there, behind laptops and computers spread across the globe. And nobody can ever take that from us. The community will live on..... By AlexHaydenJunibalya on Oldbie on 10/21/10

Thank you to those that hold my pixel hand and tell me it will be OK

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Monday, November 8, 2010

Separate...yet together.

******************************Where we come from******************************

While we come from all over the world....

Joined here in this metaverse, our possibilities are almost boundless.... And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते