Stop the world, I want to get off

Cliché! We’ve all heard this phrase and been amused at the obvious fun intended as the world isn’t going to stop spinning any time soon. We’re all pretty much stuck here!

My kids have never left this country, let alone seen the world. (Okay, not entirely true, I think my biggest boy went with his dad south of the border for an afternoon to check out some mega-hunting store, but he was 2 so does that count?) Their concept of the size of our Earth is so limited and while we try to explain and show pictures & maps, it is just too abstract at this point.

I am part of a fantastic group of friends that met online. The very cool thing is, between us, we represent at least 7 countries over 4 continents. While I have only had the pleasure of meeting a few of these friends who live a bit closer to me, I count these people among my dearest friends. The internet has allowed this.

As I look at the stats of this baby blog I’ve been working on, I’m seeing reader representation from 10 different countries!! People as far as the Middle East & Vietnam have been checking it out. While I know nothing about these people, who they are or how they came across this bit of writing, I find it highly cool that they did. And the world seems just a bit smaller as I feel I am sharing my thoughts with people who are physically so very far away.

Years ago, it was okay to plead ignorance at various goings on in the world. When the holocaust was occurring in Europe during WWII, people in North America for the large part didn’t know what was happening. People right IN Europe – who even lived in villages not far from these camps often didn’t know what was happening. A media block was so much more effective when media tools were so limited.

Now, all I have to do is ask google anything, and I have a wealth of information suddenly available to me. (My children once asked me who is google – because my answer to anything they ask that I don’t know is generally “Well, let’s ask google”). My kids don’t know what it is like to not be able to learn the answer to virtually any question they might have.

The world has shrunk in recent years. I am part of the generation that has witnessed this. I recall getting my first email account and thinking the internet was dumb as doing a search would produce nothing useful – very few companies had websites then. NOW, I cannot imagine a world without internet! I may still have read Lisa Shannon’s book (I read it the old fashioned way – a BOOK), but my knowledge may well have ended there. The media shows so little of what is going on in Africa and, admittedly, I generally don’t watch the news. But google knew full on what was going on and a few very simple searches produced so much.

I have now watched videos, read reports, seen documentaries & statistics – everything is so accessible. I am reading about the work various organizations have been doing and that has led me to read MORE books and think even harder on the topic at hand.

So, HELLO across the world! I’m so glad you are reading! I hope we share some of the same thoughts & views regarding the issues of hurt our planetary neighbours are facing. The world feels so much smaller when there are people who think the same no matter what continent they are on.