People, People are Amazing Amazing.

People are amazing. Maybe not good, maybe not bad, just interesting. Even at there most downtrodden or most desperate, people have a certain fearlessness about them. Speaking generally, sometimes all it takes is a new piece of information, or even just the way that information is delivered, to cast someone you know in a new light. I don't think that is ever, ever a bad thing. Everyone is flawed, everyone is struggling, sometimes only with their own happiness, sometimes with situations much more complicated. The possibilities that exist when seperate minds connect can really be something positive even when the events that lead to these new connections can sometimes be painful. Big changes are scary because they are so often sudden. But I can't think of anything as slowly scary as no changes at all.

Stepping back, calming down, removing yourself long enough to collect your thoughts so that you may more fully step back into life can be lonely, so it's worth remembering that other people are lonely too and there is nothing wrong with being lonely together.

Fascinating things are happening to the world. Much is hard to watch, hard to go through, hard to think about. But people are connecting in ways so new its hard to believe. The internet fascilitates these new connections. What follows is a short collection of websites that show people at their most human, most flawed, and most alive form. In short, at their finest.

1000 Journals. A breathtaking social experiement. Well worth exploring. The experience is hieghtened when it's raining and Sam Beam is whispering his intense tunes.

Post Secret. Startling, especially in the capacity the content holds to awaken it's viewers to the always very shared human experence.

Craigslist. Every major city in the US and many through out the world is represented with it's own 'version' of craigslist. Find your city, or a city you'd like to visit and explore. Read the message boards. See what people are selling, what kind of odd jobs people are seeking to be filled or offering to perform. Check out the "Rooms/Shared" section under the "Housing" heading and see all the funky living arrangements that are available right next door.

Couch Surfing. Explore the world. On the cheap. Meet the world. Sleep on it's couch.

Photoblogs. Reading this blog of mine you must have at least some idea what, exactly, is a blog. So take that idea but replace all the text with pictures. This website is an exceptional directory of photoblogs from all over the world. A great way to see a city from the viepoint of its residents. Pick a subject matter, there is probably a photoblog to satisfy your search.

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People are amazing.