This weekend we had a party celebrating my wife's 50th birthday. Unbeknownst to her many of her good friends were invited. (A few were missed, because of her husband's poor attention to detail). As people kept showing up, my wife's jaw would drop and she would become a little teary, and she would express "Oh my goodness!" She stated at the end of the night that she had had a WONDERFUL time, and that it was so good to see all who were able to come over.
The internet has been a wonderful connection tool, but there is one thing it really can't do. It can't create presence. We can get stuff, but even the nicest stuff pales in comparison to relationship.
I think we only have a limited understanding of how powerful our presence is. Every person's presence for the party indicated that they were there sacrificially to celebrate the life of a person. They weren't there for gain or advantage. They were there simply to celebrate. And more than words, it was communicated by physically walking through the door.
In showing up communication transcended words, which are so clumsy anyway.
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