touch

I sit behind this desk receiving emails and correspondence from friends, reading up on world news and keeping abreast to the lives of friends and the world. All the while, I still feel equally individual, as if all these words flashing across the screen feeding my mind and heart mean nothing.

It's really nice to know that there are people out there who appreciate you, but there is something to be said for actually being in touch, hearing someone's voice, seeing their facial contortions, feeling the closeness of a hug. Today, for instance, I saw an old friend after maybe three years of keeping some sort of strange contact. It was so much nicer to see him in person instead of writing notes online. You can talk so much quicker, tap into body language, subtleties, guide the conversation wherever. You don't have to rely on your sense of trying to decipher what is actually going on, what tone of voice your friend is using. The Internet is great for keeping contact, but to really be in touch you need to ACTUALLY see your friends. Some write, others don't, you live in the physical present and take your friends along for the ride and whatever happens later remains a fact to be seen, to be written to be experienced.