Pity

Have you ever had moments when you'd hear a song or you'd smell a scent or you'd see a certain sky color, and you'd be so homesick? But the problem was that you count off the places you've ever lived in and the places you've ever visited, but you're not homesick for any of them. Instead, you're homesick for a place that only exists in your mind. Maybe you dreamt it one night, maybe your imagination created it while you were reading a book, maybe you saw a glimpse of it in a movie or a painting. However your mind created that place, it exists in your head and you're homesick for it.

If you're lucky, you could reread the book and live in that universe again. Or you can watch the movie over and over. Or stare at the painting for hours on end. If you're not so lucky,... Well, let's just hope you're a great builder. ;-)

So I pity the people who never discovered the joy of virtual reality, of bringing worlds into existence. Worlds that were, until then, locked up inside someone's head.

I pity the people who still haven't experienced walking into a dream while fully awake.

I pity the people who hang on tight to their narrow definition of "reality" and so miss out on out-of-this-world experiences.

If you've discovered Second Life and virtual worlds and realized the potential immensity of this reality, count yourself lucky.