Is it possible to connect folders to each other?

I would like to be able to have a folder on my desktop, and a folder elsewhere in finder such that when I make changes/add items to the folder on my desktop, the folder elsewhere receives the same changes/items. Right now I have a folder in my users profile, and a link to that folder on my desktop, but I can't access the contents of that folder when I'm away from my laptop. Since my desktop is uploaded to iCloud, I can see the link, but can't access the folder since the contents are actually stored locally. Ideally, I'd like to be able to access the contents from my iPad as well using iCloud. Any ideas?