There is an old Buddhist sutra that teaches: "from the slightest motion of a single wave, ten thousand waves will follow."
Tonight, from the motion of a single ripple cast with the launching of my blog last year, I received my ten thousandth wave in return. 10,000 visitors from 89 countries. That momentous mark was reached by a visitor from Beijing earlier this evening.
This blog has been a safe haven for me to try my creative hand, make a few photos, share a few memories, celebrate the natural world and write a thought or two from the longitudes and latitudes that crisscross my life.
The biggest surprise has been the friends I've made from my travels right here in greater Blogistan - incredible human beings that inspire me beyond words and often into action: Debby Kaspari, Julie Zickefoose, Doug Taron, Jean Warner, Mary Farracci, Caroline Aksoy, Marie Walden, Barry Moses, just to mention just a few - all incredible, kind and wise visionaries who have transcended this virtual world I've created and made the very real one I call home a place of sheer, immense beauty.
Your passion, your creativity and your wise ways inspire an entire nation of readers -- I count myself fortunate to be one of them. I can't thank you enough for having the courage to share your world and for your gentle guidance this past year. Tonight I send you each ten thousand waves of gratitude.
Like my favorite Neruda poem, "tonight I write the saddest lines. The night is shattered and the blue stars shiver in the distance": My waxing sentimental and calling you by name comes largely from having lost a blogger friend this week. I dedicate my 10,000th wave to Nicky Cooper -the much beloved and celebrated author of Cooper's Corridor; the blog world is mourning his untimely and strange demise. He may be gone forever but the idea of Nicky Cooper, what he stood for, should live on in our hearts. In his passing, a valuable lesson has been taught; the only hero we should be searching for is, indeed, the one inside ourselves.
Thank you all for visiting. I look forward to the next ten thousand waves.
12 comments:
So sorry to hear about the passing of your blogger friend. Love all your posts, of course. 10,000 kisses for you. (Oh and BTW, nice calves!) Be careful. K8
It would be interesting to keep the blog going if only as a fictional work. Nah scrap that idea! Best to let Cooper and the boys resting in peace. By the way, you've gained a new reader.
How you manage to be so thoughtful and considerate all the way from Beijing evades me, but I am humbled by your loving wave and every bit as thankful for you, Timmo. My sincerest condolences on the loss of your friend. I know how real cyberfriends can become. May the rest of your Beijing internment be productive and photoful. Missed you badly!
From the ashes rise new connections. This was a beautiful post, Tim.
What a strange journey it has been that brings us together.
Peace.
I too am a new reader and gladly so. Cooper is a phoenix in many blogs. I join in the mourning and am grateful for the community he created.
The silver lining of course is how the blogosphere has opened up. I have been introduced to some wonderful blogs because of this. Yours is one of them.
Congratulations on your 10,000 & keep up the great work! Sorry about the loss of your blogger friend. <:(
I have some waves, too, Tim. Almost three years ago, I would have never believed I would love so many people from afar - Far Away and Nearby. I'm honored to be mentioned in this heartfelt post. I wish Nicky the best hereafter... It's so sad to lose a friend. We all put it out there in the best way we can - to love, to entertain, and to share. You, my dear, are one of the finest.
Be safe in Beijing, be you, and look forward with passion your second year.
Love,
Mary
Tim, your words are beautiful as usual.
I'm sorry that you've lost your friend. And I'm glad that you count me as a new one. I feel the same.
Thanks so much for the kind words. I've been away from Internet access for a few days (I'm still in AZ, just having come down from Madera Canyon). I have valued getting to know you through blogging. Perhaps, like Kathie and I, we will be able to meet in person some day. I'm pleasantly surprised to find that you enjoy Neruda. I have not yet read a lot of his work, but have enjoyed the poetry from Canto General for many years. My favorite Neruda:
Con su espaciosa jerarquía
El orden de las solidades
It expresses a lot of what I love about wilderness.
So sorry to hear about your friend.
10,000 waves - what a poetic sensibility you have. Wishing you many more waves upon waves. Thank you for enriching my life.
T.R. congratulatins on your 10,000th visitor and your blogging! I, too, started my blog as a way to express myself creatively. It has grown more than I ever expected. 10,000 blessing on you also. I am sorry about your blogging friend.
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