I deeply miss my friend Ilya, who left for California some years ago
and never came back.
Fortunately, his infectious and thoughtful optimism
will never leave me.
I remember one New Year's, I got a call. It
was Ilya, who was calling every number in his phone to say hi, check in
and look forward to a new year. This is the social space he occupied,
where there was always a moment to acknowledge his fellow humans -- to
share a laugh, to share an idea, and to share a vision for something greater.
In Ilya's world, there is no such thing as "too many people to say
hello." We live together, we connect, we share and we grow. Thus, our
relationships can rise above profit, above power, and above the often
violent, dismissive discourse that pervades our Internet. We're only
here for a short time -- why be anything but radically friendly,
whimsical, and unflinchingly aware of our supreme talent and potential?
I recently logged this same note into the dizzying, absorbing medium called Facebook --
where I am unable to resist the fleeting sense of connectivity that
permeates our jumbled displays. We like, we comment, we scroll to
distraction, and yet we still miss the character and inspiration of a
phone call, a visit... a true presence.
Ilya, thanks for showing
me what's possible -- online, and in this global neighborhood that won't
lose its humanity to an insincere 'network.'
No comments:
Post a Comment