Webmistress and sole proprietor
J. A. Stroud a.k.a. GlassPoet.
Nothing on these pages may be used without the express permission of the author / webmistress
So, you find yourself involved with someone over the Internet. You know it never happens like in the movies. This is not "You've Got Mail."
You never saw it coming, and like a deer caught in the headlights, you have no idea which way to move. It's caught you completely off guard, and you swore this would never happen to you ... again! It's like you woke up one day and realized that this faceless, voiceless person had found his or her way into your heart.
To fall in love with words on a screen ... something we all try so hard to avoid, happens to just about everyone here on the NET. For some, there is a glorious future, for others a long lasting friendship and still for others ... heartache.
The only way to keep this from happening, is to keep yourself isolated from the masses. Even the most mature, the most intelligent have fallen victim. It takes a few words here and there, some kindness on a bad day at work, a weak moment when you aren't looking, a single smile posted on a flat screen at just the right time.
Yet, we can't keep ourselves isolated. We chat for that connection, whatever that is to each of us. We cannot be here in Cyberspace without some of the real "us" coming through. Even the most grizzled chat veteran is but a human being, with feelings, wants, needs and desires. We run the risk of emotions becoming involved, attachments being made. In this medium of fakes and frauds, one good person can slip in ... when you least expect it, when you were busy, just being yourself, and BAM! You spend countless hours talking, laughing, sharing intimate, personal details about your lives. You allow words on a screen to mean more to you, because that is all you have. The time shared becomes an important part of your day and you begin to really care for that other person.
I have heard of people finding true love online. There are WEB sites filled with testimonials. They go on to share lives together outside of this realm and are very happy. Love can be found anywhere, even through a modem and a keyboard.
When it does go wrong though, the pain of it runs as deeply as if this were a flesh and blood lover that you were losing. Even though that was never the case. You can't hold words on a screen, you can't touch, there is no sense of smell or sight or sound. You may have never heard the others voice, seen the smile reach their eyes.
Words can be very powerful, and when emotions run high ... you begin to question what it is that you feel and think about this other person.
Is it really love or addiction? Does this person meet a want or a need? We do a lot of the "what ifs" and "oh my gawd, what have I done?" all the while wondering what the hell happened. If we are very lucky and the Gods have smiled down on us, the realization of what is happening hits both people at the same time, and although there is pain, walking away is the only answer. Both are fully aware and recognize what needs to be done.
I think it's hardest on those who think they love someone, when the other doesn't feel the same way. That will always be the case in Virtual or in Real Time.
Love, no matter where it is found, what type of love or even where it leads, is one lesson we all must learn and if learning some of that here, teaches us what it is we truly seek in our personal lives ... I hope I learn my lessons well.
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