Is it small in here?

The world is a small place, our networks reach twice around the globe and seep into every pore. Six degrees are slowly becoming two. How did we get here and what choices were made to bring us all so close? Was there ever a moment when this might have been avoided?

We were always searching for this, always moving toward an end that connects us all despite distance and boundaries.

I'm warming up to the idea of this, trying to see the benefits of a world made smaller by technology and our own desire to learn more of what's on the other side. But what happens when things get too close and the borders are broken down? I try to be open and ready for the opportunities that come with our connectedness. I try.

I think of what has been lost with all this. I also think of what more can be gained.

I have trouble letting people in, letting them get closer than before. I like the distance. I like the boundaries set. Once I do let them in things tend to unravel and get a bit cloudy. Instead of making the world more accessible I seem to let things float away. Opportunities slip through my fingertips and I lose any connectivity that there could have been.

Then there are the times when things get too close and I make the decision to live with others, to let them see me for what I am in the dark and the quiet. I have poor judgement and usually these decisions are made without much thought. The event unfold as if in a nightmare and I end up with a scar and my hopes of finding more dashed beyond recognition. And then I suffer in silence because talking about it over and over makes it worse because I can't see where I went wrong or how to avoid it the next time.

And then his girlfriend shows up on Facebook and I have to realize that we are all connected, she could be someone I know. After all, I knew him.