In October of 2010, the Cage Dance Club closed.
With a group of 1750 VIPs, we had a successful stable venue in Second Life, that had become self sustaining and 'home' to many of us.
In February 2010, my 21 year old son passed away. Devestated. Unexpected. Heartbreaking. Felt utterly lost as a mother, a wife, as a person.
Second Life remained a constant in my life, with my dearest friends supporting me, loving me and helping me through what was, still is, will always be the most difficult time of my life.
The club remained open due to the efforts of others. Quilla, the hosts, Teri and Pad, maintained the committment that I simply could not. VIPs remained loyal and donations were enough to cover the expenses of the club. The club was doing fine.
What changed is me:)... and THAT is what is important.
The experiences I have had during my time in Second Life, have all led me to where I am now. I appreciate every moment that was shared with me. I acknowledge the mistakes I made and the choices I made ALL contributed to the huge learning curve, that has been one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.
Virtual spaces are often ridiculed ....
Social networking is the fastest growing space on the internet, and unless one has experienced this kind of socialising, then it is impossible to express the effects, the influence, the opportunity to learn, that this space can provide.
Friendships.... like in Real Life, have sustained me. Without them ~ I would not have remained in Second Life. The importance of these relationships, cannot be expressed. All of my efforts in relationships in second life, were genuine and honest. Unfortunately, that was often misinterpreted or perceived inaccurately, but that IS the nature of SL. That is human nature.
The lines of real life and second life overlap continually, and to say it doesn't is foolish. We return to the computer every day to feed an emotional craving of feeling good. We feel good in here, because we can be ourselves, good or bad. WE feel good in here, because the interactions are based on our authentic personalities, exchanges of knowledge and discussions that we value and enjoy. If not, we simply turn it off !
The psychological desire to return is beyond our control, because the human emotions control our heads. We come back to feel good.
My second life had begun to not feel good.
When I first arrived in SL , everyone was giving, positive and happy. These days, there is much less emphasis on the sharing and caring, and much more emphasis on individuals focusing on themselves. This is fine, if there is learning done along the way. If we all continue to walk the same path, never listening to others, never changing our opinions,nothing will change. Nothing will be learnt. Change encourages growth, without growth we lose perspective.
I could see how others were losing perspective, I could see how I had lost perspective in the past, and I could see that the Cage path was not changing, so I moved things around, and shuffled the deck. People I considered friends, turned out to simply be acquaintances. Those who I thought were acquaintances, turned out to be good friends. Those that I thought valued my honesty, ultimately did not. Major learning curves began to display there were some things in this virtual space that I needed to change... so I did.
Eventually, it became obvious to me, that I needed to close the club, and let go of the sim. It was simply time to change.
The beautiful part of the story, is where the changes led me. I still see and chat to my dear friends, Quilla, Della and Pangy...Teri and Onyx, when we can. And then there is Reo. Nobody has given me the time, the energy, the wisdom and support that Reo has, and still does. Regardless of all other things, including the worlds we choose to reside in, our friendship remains the treasure that I will always honour, and respect.
I feel only gratitude, for every opportunity that led me to where I am today...
I touch the screen ...and thank the universe ...for every moment.
