Internet Energetics
As a self described “grown up hippie chick” I still marvel at the woo-woo elements of the universe. I don’t even mind anymore when people laugh at my notions, or try to debunk them. After all, I have as much right to my beliefs as everyone else has to theirs. And I believe in love; love for humanity, love for computers, love for life itself. Sometimes I get disappointed in how people behave, but then I remember that I’ve behaved badly on occasion myself. It doesn’t lessen my love for people in general. Even when my Macintosh behaves badly, I don’t love it any less. 🙂
I have found over the course of the past year, from working with my Macintosh as a communication device, that there is an underlying force to this thing called the World Wide Web. Even though this way of communicating may lack the element of face to face interaction, we still place our thoughts into words on a page. Our thoughts become things. And by doing this, these words become an instant, energetic, electronic form of ourselves. We evolve into something more than three dimensional human beings with another element, another face if you will, to present to the world.
Beyond chips and wires and phone lines and cable, beyond bus speed and RAM, beyond the box and monitor and modem you use to connect to the outside world, this Internet energetic force roams the World Wide Web. Though it cannot be measured with gauges or proved into existence by any other scientific means, I believe it exists.
This energetic force is present in every website, every email, every message board, every chat room, everyplace you go on the net. I am often guilty of sending out a message for the want of being funny, or smirky, or snide…and there it is, in print for those who read it to experience. Sometimes it fills me with joy and laughter, other times I am ashamed. But always I must recognize it for what it’s worth, an attempt at communication, sharing a certain energy…and more than just words on a page.
As I delve deeper and deeper into the meaning and purpose of this medium of communication I wonder about the connection I have to those with whom I correspond…what is it that marks you as a person in my life, who knows little of me but many of my secrets. And why you….or you….how did you come to be such an important part of my life? Without the Internet, it’s likely I wouldn’t even know of your existence, or you of mine.
San Francisco and MacWorld honed this idea for me. Meeting “In Real Life” some of those with whom I have corresponded over the past year helped me realize that it’s no longer practical to have prejudices or negative notions about others. This medium is the great leveler. We have become an online community of people who have energy to share. Fat, thin, short, tall, black, white, male, female, rich, poor, young, old….these labels no longer matter. Behind the modem we are the same. We are CONNECTED. The rules have changed. This blows my mind.
When I first started using the Internet I was astounded at its force and power. It exists as an unregulated medium, the first of its kind. Even though there are attempts to regulate it with filters and “Kid Safe” websites and Janet Reno’s proposed Internet police, I don’t think it will ever happen. It’s too big, too broad, and it embraces the entire planet. Any regulations which are put on the World Wide Web in its current state will only spawn other ways for us to communicate unrestricted and unregulated. It is an energetic form unto itself.
The future holds the truths of our past. The information contained in the World Wide Web frees us all to make intelligent choices about where we want to go, and what we want to fill our minds. It arms us with the responsibility to become more intelligent, more mature, and to contribute in a positive way to the growth of the planet. The future of the World Wide Web holds promise as a key to world peace. And as it becomes easier and easier to communicate with utilities like QuickTime and Voice Chat, there is hope that we will begin to use these tools to make a positive difference not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others.
I don’t deny the negativity on the net. I just don’t go there. I don’t have to. There’s too much good stuff to waste time with the bad. In fact, I don’t even want to talk about it.
So after your daily dose of surfing, take what you have learned and pass it on to those who don’t have the magic of the modem. Internet Energetics has touched your life, and now your life has changed.
Beth Lock
beth@infowest.com
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