A Lenten Lesson
And Easter came. The season of Lent closed in Resurrection.
Now what?
I wanted to post a closing note about REST: A Lenten Social Media Experiment. It seems like a lot has happened in forty Days (well, technically 47 days when it's all said and done), and as I look back I'm kind of amazed at all my little world has experienced in that time from severe sickness, to family changes, to, yeah, even this-- a more than usual amount of writing for me-- how'd all that happen in just a month and a half?
I thumb through the pictures on my phone's camera--so many photos NOT uploaded for the world to see--and I'm thinking it's been a lot, and I wonder, is this much happening all the time but I'm often too distracted to see it?
I've written a lot about how distracted social media makes me feel, and even after logging in yesterday I felt the ick of distraction--distraction because I'm realizing how much is going on right in front of me, as a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend; the good, bad and ugly; and I realize that so often I would exchange it for the distraction of a meme, finding a prettier picture than what actually is in my life, constantly filtering, like it or not, my own little reality.
And I think I've discovered a little more this month and a half, how precious that reality is. Even if it's not always pretty or fun or easy, it's my gift to both enjoy and ahem, sometimes, endure, and I find that more valuable than ever.
I haven't always loved this month and a half-- I missed the fun of constant exchange with friends, the likes of my pictures, my own little affirmations coming through other people's comments--and yet I've learned that I have all these things, even without social media, and maybe I've been missing all those things closest to me.
And that's what this experiment was all about, after all, finding some time to hopefully focus on what means the most to me: my family, my faith.
I can't give up social completely--there's no doubt about that. There are some friend and family ties that are just better kept up with through this medium. Writing is better shared through it. And isn't it great to have it? But this REST has afforded me some great rethinking and mental and emotional reframing for its use.
Thank you so much for being with me this season. Man, it's been a kind of crazy one, but I think, good. I hope you too have found some rest from the hustle of the online world and could find fresh perspective for the one right in front of you.
Now what?
I wanted to post a closing note about REST: A Lenten Social Media Experiment. It seems like a lot has happened in forty Days (well, technically 47 days when it's all said and done), and as I look back I'm kind of amazed at all my little world has experienced in that time from severe sickness, to family changes, to, yeah, even this-- a more than usual amount of writing for me-- how'd all that happen in just a month and a half?
I thumb through the pictures on my phone's camera--so many photos NOT uploaded for the world to see--and I'm thinking it's been a lot, and I wonder, is this much happening all the time but I'm often too distracted to see it?
I've written a lot about how distracted social media makes me feel, and even after logging in yesterday I felt the ick of distraction--distraction because I'm realizing how much is going on right in front of me, as a mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend; the good, bad and ugly; and I realize that so often I would exchange it for the distraction of a meme, finding a prettier picture than what actually is in my life, constantly filtering, like it or not, my own little reality.
And I think I've discovered a little more this month and a half, how precious that reality is. Even if it's not always pretty or fun or easy, it's my gift to both enjoy and ahem, sometimes, endure, and I find that more valuable than ever.
I haven't always loved this month and a half-- I missed the fun of constant exchange with friends, the likes of my pictures, my own little affirmations coming through other people's comments--and yet I've learned that I have all these things, even without social media, and maybe I've been missing all those things closest to me.
And that's what this experiment was all about, after all, finding some time to hopefully focus on what means the most to me: my family, my faith.
I can't give up social completely--there's no doubt about that. There are some friend and family ties that are just better kept up with through this medium. Writing is better shared through it. And isn't it great to have it? But this REST has afforded me some great rethinking and mental and emotional reframing for its use.
Thank you so much for being with me this season. Man, it's been a kind of crazy one, but I think, good. I hope you too have found some rest from the hustle of the online world and could find fresh perspective for the one right in front of you.
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