It's a Small World After All...

For some reason it just dawned on me last night just how the Internet has made our world so small and brought us all together. It's not like I've never thought of this before but since I've been on Etsy, been blogging and just signed up on Flickr Sunday, I've realized just how true this is. I've always realized the power of the Internet since I actually depend on it for work. I moved to Oregon five years ago but kept my job in Colorado so I telecommute daily. I also communicate via e-mail with many friends and family throughout the United States. I also use Instant Messenger to communicate with my boss and co-workers - although sometimes I wonder if this is a good thing!! Beyond this, I didn't grasp how truly far reaching the Internet is beyond my own home office since I never realized its full potential.

Yesterday for example, I decided it was high time to try out some handmade soaps that everyone raves about. So, I went shopping on Etsy and have soap coming from California, Missouri and North Carolina. I also have lotions coming from Utah. I would never have come across these products if they weren't on Etsy - nor would I have even tried the items if I didn't "know" the people behind the products after "meeting" them in the Etsy forums. One of the ladies I bought soap from is on vacation in New Jersey but, because of the Internet, she sent me a message thanking me for my purchase and letting me know she'd ship my order once she returned home. Okay, so maybe the Internet impedes on our vacations, but just the fact that she took the time to acknowledge me while on vacation from the opposite coast of the United States was a very nice gesture.

After shopping, I got on my Flickr account and found myself looking at pictures from all over the globe. I saw spring flowers in Spain, a cat from Poland and one from Italy, landscape in France, a dog from Germany and many other interesting photos all posted by the people who actually live in those countries that I'd love to visit. It's a whole different world than we see on TV or in books - it's real, it's life, it's today. Yeah sure the cats and dogs look like our cats and dogs but the point is, when would I ever have been able to see a cat walking down an alley in Italy with cobbled roads and laundry hanging between the buildings or see the beautiful pink spring flowers in Spain? Then to think that people from the other side of the world are looking at pictures of my jewelry and pets - it's just incredible!

As for my blog, I've had visitors from many countries around the world and to think that they are learning a little about me is very humbling. I find it fascinating that someone in Africa or Australia or Thailand is able to connect with me in a small way. We may live in different places, have different cultures, look differently on the outside but inside, we are all connected and much more alike than not. And thanks to the Internet, the world knows no boundaries!