All Around the World!

IT’S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD!

 I have been to Disneyland (twice I think) and to Disney World (once and once to their MGM park, if that counts), but it wasn't until adulthood that I was first able to visit either one.  One time I even rode the little ride about the small, small world, which may be kind of hokey, but I wanted to see it since I had such vivid memories of that song from my childhood when the song first came out.  (I’m sorry if I got the song stuck in your head…maybe Disney would pay me some advertising fees?)  But it occurs to me that the world has shrunk incredibly since the day the Disney Park opened that ride.  

One evidence to that effect came to me the times I have visited the little report section of the blog, that describes where the people are located who have come to read the blog.  One recent report listed the following locations outside the United States:  

Ukraine

Germany

France

Israel

Romania

Bulgaria

Canada

China

United Kingdom

Other countries that I have noticed include Monte Negro (where someone I actually know resides), India, Zambia, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines and more.  I don’t generally know how or why they run across this blog (apart from the source reports that I don’t generally read anyway), but the fact that you individuals in these other countries find your way to this blog from a small Kansas town is proof that Disney was right:  it IS a small, small world.  

When someone is struggling with divorce, not only is it a small world, it can be a very lonely world.  I hope that seeing these countries listed will help point out that though divorce is a lonely experience, it is an experience shared by a great many people from one side of the globe to another.  As near as I can tell, there are very few places, if any, where divorce is not a big deal.  And I don’t believe there are many countries that would like to brag about their divorce rate as if fostering divorce was a great achievement.  I know some countries such as the Philippines do not officially allow divorce, as my friend Glenn Machlan mentioned in a blog a few months ago, so any divorce statistics from there would be skewed.  But it is worth noting that no matter where you are, if divorce has touched your life personally or through individuals in your family, there are others around who understand how hard that can be.

For those of you who happen to read this from outside the United States, I would be interested in hearing anything you might want to share about the experience of divorce or rules about divorce in your country.  You can email me at seasonsofdivorce@gmail.com    And I also want to say for those of you in the throes of divorce or its aftermath, when you feel the stress and heartbreak, recognize that there are other all around the world seeking encouragement in the same blog that you are, others who understand how hard it can be and how much it can hurt.  It may not be a profound blog tonight, or maybe it is more profound than I realize, but I just thought I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize that worldwide community of those whose lives have been touched by the loss of divorce.