Have you ever seen this quote, “Be kinder than is necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” It’s hard to attribute this quote but I think the original thought came from Plato. It is a powerful message and I’ve noticed many people in Second Life have that quote in their profiles, and I believe the reason they do is they know people who are fighting a serious battle.

I’m writing this post to acknowledge a friend of mine who is fighting such a battle. I’ve know this man for only a short time, but we became friends when he came outted himself as a reader of this blog and engaged me in a lengthy email dialog over the past few months. Naturally, I’m not going to reveal his name but I do want to acknowledge his humanity. Our email exchanges have been detailed and engaging. And I’ve come to realize this man is very intelligent and accomplished in his field of computer technology. We never met inworld, other than a couple times I saw him while hosting in the past.

Yesterday, my friend told me he would have to end our email exchanges because he must focus on serious health problems and approaching surgery. I sensed deep concern in his tone.

It’s very easy to forget in all the drama of Second Life that everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. And it is important to recognize that some of the people meet can use our prayers.

My prayers are with you dear friend.