In the brief time that I've been here on ponychan, I've witnessed miracles. To coin a phrase, even if it hasn't made the lame walk and the blind see, it's made the shy talk and the bitter squee.
It strikes me that a lot of the people here are from my generation, the "internet generation", and are well acquainted with bitterness, shyness and friendlessness. In the past, some of us have flamed, some of us have lurked silently, but most of use have come to the internet seeking distraction and comfort, never really hoping for actual joy, but wishing deep in the back of our minds that there was a better way. And then ponies came along. It didn't have to be ponies, but they were the right catalyst at the right time, and here we are.
I have in my own time been about as cynical as they come. I've gotten worse at trusting people as the years have gone by. I've seen movements on the internet and in real life that have brought people passion and joy for a while, but they always get poisoned by selfishness and people who take themselves too seriously. When the cynic in me sees a post on here that seems sappy, or painfully honest, or controversial, I sit back and wait for the parasprites to show up... and they almost never do. This is what I call a miracle. I don't fully understand what's happening yet, but I think it's worth reflecting on.
Those of us who can relate to what I'm saying are in the process of changing ourselves, the internet, and the world, in the only way things like that ever really change for the better - by looking at the "small" picture, taking life a day at a time, and thinking of others. Our little revolution is pretty much the easiest revolution ever, because it doesn't require us to do anything we aren't already doing. We're like scientists, discovering joy and friendship as if for the first time, and I encourage you all to be bold, experiment, and learn everything you can about it!
Friendship really is about as close to magic as we come. The combination of fun, trust, compassion, generosity, and all the other loving things that go with it - they are freakishly powerful. In the right circumstances, they can change the course of an entire life in the blink of an eye. Sometimes they can send mental and even physical illnesses into remission. They can create order from chaos, heal wounds we tho