Eyes of a Stranger

I believe that I've taken the time to speak on this before...but I believe it bears repeating.

Stop living your miserable and pathetic lives on the Internet. An alarming percentage of you spend every waking hour and minute browsing MySpace, posting on messageboards, and waiting for that next sweet blog post to feed your addiction. There are those of you that have no social life or social interaction aside from what you find online...and this is a very sad thing.

Before you simply brush this aside, understand that I am a recovering addict. I have read literally hundreds of thousands of 'posts' through various media and posted tens of thousands myself. I have made some real friendships online (that have crossed the line into 'real life'), but the vast majority are simple online love/hate relationships that honestly don't matter in the grand scheme of things.

There are some that even go to the lengths of impersonation, multiple 'screen names,' and outright lying to generate sympathy, 'drama,' and (in some cases) real problems for their 'peers.'

What the hell is going on with this? Why would anyone prefer to exist in a completely intangible world that doesn't really matter instead of actually affecting real change in their real lives and the real world?

It's possible to see pictures of the ocean online...but it's not possible to smell the salt of the sea. You can see pictures of a warm summer day, but you can't feel the sun on your skin. You can see pictures of attractive people, but you'll never know what it's like to make actual eye contact with them or engage in a two-way conversation.

This bookends quite nicely to my rant on 'Getting Off Your Ass.' You want to have some real friends? Go out and make some. Go out and do things with them. Be active...and be active with REAL people in REAL places.

I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how to look
Through other people's eyes

Some will die in hot pursuit
In fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain