Robin's Tea Set & The 5,000

The Station Has Welcomed 5,000 Travelers 

Let me begin by thanking the 5,000 people who've visited Travelers Station. I am humbled by your visits and the wonderful messages you've left me. Your kindness has sustained me in ways you will never know. Much like Robin's Tea Set.

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Only a couple of people who've visited all my sites in Second Life have noticed them at every site, and asked me about them. 99.9% of people never really notice them besides a passing glance; the Blue Willow tea sets.

On April 21, 2022 - I purchased this tea set. The Builder's name was Robin Sojourner.

To this day, I have never seen anything so beautiful in Second Life as this tea set. As a young child, I grew-up eating off of Blue Willow china exactly like this. And so, maybe it was my inner child who first loved it and by extension, the woman who created it.

It has always been my practice to write thank you notecards to builders when I've found myself impressed with their work. Being a builder myself, I know how rare and wonderful it is get a thank you. I tried to find the original NC to add here but could not locate it. Suffice it to say, I let her know just how much I truly loved her tea set.

A few weeks passed by and I received a response in the form of a Notecard from Robin's best friend informing me that Robin had passed away the year before, almost to the the day of my purchase of the tea set - April 19th, 2021. 

This was a singular moment in SL for me that I will never forget. I felt devastated and perplexed by my own emotions. I'd come to love and respect this woman so much through her tea set - and she was not even here and would never know how this object she made had touched my heart so deeply. Or how it had called forth my inner child to begin a journey of healing I'd never anticipated.

You can learn more about Robin's passing here -

 https://modemworld.me/2021/04/25/in-memoriam-robin-sojourner/

For those of you who think you've never heard of Robin - maybe these will look familiar, they are the UV Templates used by everyone who creates avatar textures and tattoos.

Here's her post about creating them -

https://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/SL-Tuts/SLPages/AVUVTemplates.html

And so, this was how my journey began with Robin's tea set. A tea set that quietly inhabits my heart and every build I have created, and will ever create in Second Life. I talk to Robin every now and then in my mind, I always begin with, "We never met, but …"  

The Overlook Tea Set

The Safe Harbor Tea Set

The Historic Land Trust Tea Set

The River House Tea Set

The Lake House Tea Set

The Crafted Letter Tea Set

Forgotten Things Tea Set

Travelers Station Tea Set

And the very first one at the Mysterious Traveler Book Shoppe - which was the precursor to Travelers Station.

Robin (Sojourner) Wood's Livingtree Region and her inworld store still exist and can be found here:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Livingtree/111/128/25

People use Second Life for a myriad of reasons - from roleplay and gameplay to creative expression, historical builds and reenactments, and social connection.

For me, it has been mostly about personal and emotional growth. Through my avatar and his experiences over the years, I've been able to work through and heal challenging issues from my real life childhood. I've been given the opportunity to grow into - and become - the man I needed to show up and protect me in real life when I was a kid. Kind of like time travel.

Just like Robin's tea set appeared for me at the right moment in time, I too, appeared for my child self to enact healing, comfort and growth. I will forever be grateful for this formative experience. On an objective level, it's an ever expanding circle from SL to RL and back again.

In Second Life, we walk through each other's dreams. Thank you for walking through one of mine.

Until next time - Stay curious and enjoy your travels.