All around the world

Well I have to say I've met some extraordinary people over the last few months.

I love being taken on a virtual journey,.. I've been all around the world, talking to people in Greece, Germany, Australia, India, Switzerland, Canada & America to name but a few.

But I have to say the most fascinating person I have met is Ahmed who lives in Pakistan. I'm not very good at geography and most of what I know is tainted by films, media & general ignorance ~ until now.

I met Ahmed on Facebook ~ we were both commenting on a post, if I remember correctly it was answering the question 'What one food item would you take on a desert island with you?' or something to that effect... Well having established the fact I love chocolate & we both like olives, he asked if he could PM me ~ why not, afterall the whole point of networking is to make contacts?

I thought I'd listen politely as he tried to sell me whatever he was online promoting, only when he did pop up in a private message he didn't open with a sales pitch, nor with the cringe creepy one liners of players... Plus his name intrigued me, so I asked him what it meant ~ to which he sent me a link & in that moment I was hooked. It wasn't the meaning of his name that got my attention, it was the act of sharing information with me.

We chatted for hours and continued to chat on & off for hours over the course of the next couple of months ~ I've been introduced to music I would probably never have listened to and love it, I've been to places in Pakistan I would never have known about albeit via Google Earth, I've had chats about God & the Quran and all sorts of other interesting things. In fact I was also reintroduced to traditional Welsh songs & modern ones, as I was looking to challenge him in the same way he had me, in as much as listening to foreign music. Although English wasn't his 1st language as a multi linguist it hardly presented a challenge, listening to Welsh songs however was a blast...

It has been such a traumatic year and whilst I never did slip emotionally to the depths of despair I have in the past, physically and intellectually it has been more of a challenge than ever ~ So my gentle young man happening into my life at the time he did, stimulated my mind and motivated me to get better...

In the past my children had always been enough of a motivating factor, but as they have grown more independent, their need for me has lessened... I cannot remember the last time I did something just for me. Although my family may dispute that, as they see my voluntary work as being 'selfish' ~ okay so I do benefit from it too, but so do 500+ other people. I'm referring to doing something simply because I enjoy it, even the online stuff I'm doing is in theory working, again my family don't see it that way, but I'm not doing it just for fun...

Talking with Ahmed was more than just for fun, it was fun, but it was so much more than that and I cannot explain the profound effect he had on my heart, body & soul ~ He brought Jacqui back to life and I will be eternally grateful for that...

I doubt he will ever know how special he really was to me ~ because I don't think he could fully appreciated for how many years I had been trapped inside myself wanting to share ALL of me with someone who was able to share ALL of themselves too...

Fy nghalon, fy nghariad, fy mreuddwyd میرا دل، میری محبت، میری خواب