Living out loud and online

For 22 years I have lived online. For 22 years I have been blessed with friendships near and far. I have met people that I would otherwise have never known. I've been fortunate to meet several of them off-line as well as online. I think this global network of friends is one of the richest rewards of living life 'out-loud' and online.  I'm irrationally proud of the fact that if you throw a dart at the world map I'm hard pressed not to know someone there...or within a border or two.

This blessing is a double-edged sword. The world becomes so much smaller, so much more intimate. Events large and small may happen a half-world away, but it impacts me because it impacts people I know. Even if my relationship with them is 'strictly digital' it is still a genuine friendship with someone I talk to each and every day. 

This morning JordanReyne Deezul played in the Lodge. Her standing gig @ 11am on Tuesdays is one of the highlights of my week. Jordan is originally from New Zealand. Her family and friends are safe and accounted for. Her manager, Jamie, is less fortunate. He's still trying to account for friends and coworkers. Those two friends of mine, and several more folks I know, are struggling to cope with good news, bad news, and absence of news. It breaks my heart. So far those  I know are safe and accounted for. I count myself lucky, and hold myself open for support and soft words as those I know struggle to comprehend and keep moving. 

This digital life. It is rich and rewarding. It is a blessing and a curse. And I cannot imagine my life any other way.