So far, yet so near

I have a group of friends I am thankful for, we found one another through an unlikely media - through an internet forum. Personally, I've found the internet to be a channel where it is difficult to have intelligent and honest exchanges without being offensive. Online posts read without the spoken tone and no understanding of the background of the writer, can be easily misconstrued to carry along a malicious intent. That's why flaming is so common.

I've heard the term "computer hero" used. In many internet forums, people vent their frustrations, voice their unhappiness, about neighbours, colleagues, government, even another religion/race/country freely, hiding behind the anonymity of their online nickname. So they sit in front of their PC (or Mac :p) screen posting freely, simply becos they need consider no consequences, since he doesnt know who he is talking to and his own identity is not known to the readers either.

Yet in our internet forum, there has been many interesting exchanges of thoughts - we even attempt venturing into the 2 taboo topics of most other forums: politics & religion. I was telling my fiance KT last nite, that I miss those intellectual discussions, where I am challenged to represent my faith, share my opinions while keeping an open mind to hear others think of Christianity and respecting their views which differs from mine. And I am not just talking about discussions on personal faiths, but in various values & topics: romantic love, flirting, social issues, family, workplace etc etc. To me, it was easy to post my views on the internet because with words, I am allowed to plan and compose my thoughts before translating them into words. And I can tell my story without being interrupted. Some might say it's a thin line we are treading but because we have developed a mutual understanding and respect for each other, even when arguments & personal offences are taken, things blow over fast and we're back to being online buddies again.

Ironically, although we are seldom physically involved in each other's lives, we could possibly possess a significantly more holistic view of one another's inner world - because we open up to each other in a way that somehow we do not show to a friend or even a loved one in real life.

In this forum, I have learnt many lessons - on love, on friendship, on parenthood, on books, on movies, on photography... most of all, on our weaknesses as human, and how we find solace knowing everyone all have our own struggles, despite the smiling faces we carry around everyday. Some struggle with romance, some with marriage, some with family, some with career, some with self-identity and personal growth... it might be hard to understand this kinda friendship, to know so much while seeing so little of one another... which actually is exactly what makes it work so well.

a modern-day version of mass penpal-ing maybe? I'd never know, I'd never had the fortune of having one.