A word of Caution…

I know….Don’t sigh and roll your eyes. You have heard it a million times.. You have read it. Have highlighted articles about it. Colleagues and friends have told you. You have even issued a few warnings yourself to others.
But this is for you. Those of you who think you are street wise out here. Savvy. You think that you are totally.. the least gullible or naïve person you know.
You aren’t. You just haven’t met the right person.. Or.. more aptly put – the “wrong” person. For the purpose of this post…I will refer to you as the “Charm-ee”.. Cause it’s all about charm.
Charming. People can be charming. And online? Charm can get you whatever you want.
You can literally.. charm the pants off someone.
And in the privacy of your little text box, at 1 in the morning, you are more vulnerable or susceptible than you know.
The right words are a life preserver, a security blanket, a life rope, a strong shoulder to lean on, a warm chest to snuggle against, and some nights, those words fire up a passion.. and desire that you didn’t even know was possible.
We share our most private longings, secrets, fears, and dreams. We start to give ourselves away. We trust, and we begin to love, and the dream is under construction.
There are people out here, in this vast cyber land, who ARE charming. We will call them the..Charm-er. And they know what you need before you are even aware that you need it. They know how to sighhhhhhh, and how to express a thought, a kiss, an ache, in a way that you can feel it wrapped around you, holding you. You can feel their lips on yours. They type out your fantasies one letter at a time, they breath out their love to you. They beg to listen to your voice, see your picture, watch their private web cam shows. They want you. To meet you. To make this dream a reality. And……. How can you not want them back?
They know you soooooooo well.
Because… whether you admit it or not, you are here looking for something. There is something missing, a gap, a void that is raw, and waiting.
We all feel it to some extent. Some of us search the internet with a hunger, a lust, a longing. .. feeling that it is right here! Just beyond our grasp, and we can almost taste it, and when THAT person finds us, and starts filling up our emptiness, we not only accept it, we take it greedily, hungrily, and we stifle that rational, logical side that is blinking a warning. Cause. WE know better. THIS is real. And we let our hearts slide open, and let them in.
And we give ourselves away. One vulnerable, fragile piece at a time. And we let our “real life” fall to the side, and our need grows even stronger. We are reduced to that little text box, stolen moments on the phone, and .. .. we wait. Somedays.. our joy is condensed to that little screen and that icon that represents their presence and lights up when they are with you. Finally.
Do we even consider, that this wonderful, delicious, romantic, sensual person is honing his skills on us, and is already… even now, using them on someone else?? Telling her how beautiful, sexy, clever and amazing she is?? How .. he needs to hear her voice, and is aching to taste her lips? Well.. consider it.
And.. before you give away something that you can never…ever … recover, consider it VERY carefully. Cause chances are he has already moved on, and you don’t even know it yet, but his responses have been taking a little longer than normal.. The emails and phone calls have become intermittent.. The words, “busy”, “overwhelmed” , “priorities” and “other commitments” are repeated, again..and again.
And.. a request to The Charm-er –
Be gentle.
Leave a few pieces so that when the time comes.. and it certainly will.. that she needs to pick up her life.. she has something to build on, besides anger, and that ..bitter cloying taste in her mouth easily identified as regret.
Before you move on, there is a word you need to type to the one who is yearning .. waiting.. . This one…. G-O-O-D B-Y-E.

Perhaps one day there will be a surgeon generals warning on chat boxes.
“Caution! Do not attempt this at home! Keep out of reach of children and those with normal human frailties. Individual results will vary, and may not be consistent with each use. Objects in the web cam may appear larger than they are.” J