EVIL FACEBOOK?
Life is flying by! Like that saying about the toilet paper roll—“As it gets closer to the end, it goes by much faster!”
If you know me at all and are my “friend” or see anything I post or write about, I celebrate life! I try to soak up all the good stuff and share “Good News!” because…”Life hits you hard, Bro!”
Summer is winding down, school is back in session and life is busy! It is only 118 days until Christmas!–Life can turn into a constant doledrum (if you let it) and the good stuff gets pushed aside.
Guilty! Here is my typical day: get up, post Tweet on Twitter, exercise, check e-mail and Facebook, go to work, check Facebook, lunch, play a word on Words with Friends, check Facebook, back to work, check Facebook, drive home, make dinner, check Facebook…You get my point. I rarely have time to pencil in lunch with an old friend, a lengthy conversation with my mom, the car breaking down, taking my new husband to work, let alone the doctor appointment for that lump that hasn’t gone away…
Sometimes life is just about getting back to the simpler things. Unplug for a moment. Go and sit on a park bench and enjoy the cool breeze. Or, if you’re like me and you live in the desert (and it’s still summer here!), go sit in front of or under a fan and enjoy that sensation.
Like being hypnotized by the stripes on the freeway when driving a long journey, I find it mesmerizing to watch a fan in action; the symmetry of its cylindrical rotations, the control I have over it, the soothing white noise it creates, the refreshing movement of the air in my surroundings.
Try it and tell me what you observe…
Whirring Fan
“Because I am happy does not mean that everything is perfect. It means I choose to look beyond the imperfections of life.”
– I saw this quote/ book on Facebook and it resonated with me.
FACEBOOK can get a bad rap. I’ve heard many people tell of how “Facebook ruined my marriage” or, “I just don’t have the time,” or, “I don’t get on there because I know it isn’t real—it’s just everyone’s “highlight reel!”
I also know that some people post waaaay too much information; and that can be dangerous.
I confess, I didn’t do FACEBOOK for many years and I had a list of my own reasons, including some of the above.
I heard that the creators of Facebook initially had a “thumbs down button,” but then they removed it. That got me thinking about the intent and motives of the creators of this popular social media platform.
But I still have questions-
Why a “like” button and not a “LOVE” button?
Facebook –It does have its limitations.
But does Facebook really ruin marriages? Or was the marriage already in trouble?
Do “Facebook people” posting a highlight reel have better lives than you? Or is the thief called comparison stealing your joy?
Of course, be careful of what you “put out there.” This life may be temporary, but the internet is forever! 😉 😉
–—
Mid-monsoon summer heat is in full force here in Arizona.
In this sticky and exhausting heat everything turns indoors. I “unplugged” and sat mesmerized in the coolest part of the house and stared up at the fan whirring hypnotically overhead. I remembered back to childhood when I used to love to yell into a spinning fan to feel the simple joy of my voice reverberating through the blades. Lost in my reverie of simpler times, I have to blink my eyes so they don’t dry up and pop out of their sockets; and I am struck by what I can see in the fan when I do this—
It’s as if I can stop the fan with the power of a BLINK!
I think about those people posting good stuff on Facebook’s–those “highlight reels”
Isn’t life a bit like this? A succession of events that whir by us so quickly that often we don’t see that it is made up of lots of individual “snapshots” of significance.
Without those individual parts, the power wouldn’t be so strong or able to push the air from the vaulted ceiling to reach me all the way at the bottom.
But life stops for no one. We don’t have the power to blink away earthquakes, tornadoes or tsunamis. When we are paralyzed by the devastation of a divorce, or a loved one’s death, or a diagnosis, or depression—no matter how much we blink or how loud we yell into the whir—it just keeps on.
Sometimes the posts I see on FACEBOOK haunt me—heartbreak, divorces, family illness and tragedies all shared at the arm’s length of social media.
And also there is such beauty shared; artistry, new beginnings, celebrations and stories of triumph that jolt me out of my depths.
Maybe FACEBOOK is simply the snapshots that people think will reach others? Maybe FACEBOOK is just a bunch of noise trying to be heard beyond the whir of life?
It isn’t perfect and we all know that each and every person who posts on FACEBOOK isn’t either. Not a single one.
But what if the power of the story, picture, post or whatever it is, truly reaches someone in need? We’ve all witnessed the power of FACEBOOK in creating awareness of ALS…What if a post impacts someone’s life in such a way that it reaches them at “their bottom” and brings them a little coolness, refreshment or hope? Or maybe just an ice bucket poured over their head?!
Isn’t that the idea behind FACEBOOK? That we would share? That we would “like?” That we would reveal stories and interact with each other in a way that today’s technological society that has embraced and which has become the norm? That a difference could be made, if even for just one person?
If you are one of those who is against “EVIL FACEBOOK” or who hasn’t embraced technology (this is me and was me fully just over a year ago!) it doesn’t have to be FACEBOOK (or Twitter, or Instagram, or Pinterest or e-mail, or ANY social media for that matter!)
Maybe what you are doing right where you are–experiencing that snapshot in life: the tragedy, the illness, the new life or new beginning– Maybe someone needs to hear your whir?
Reaching out
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4
Maybe someone needs to lean on your shoulder; feel your hand reaching out (not to press the “like” button!) but to be helped up! Maybe someone simply needs to hear an encouraging word, smile, or story and to feel the refreshing breeze of hope that rushes through a soul when you realize you are not alone in your struggle.
Maybe you need to SHARE your story to witness to someone who has gone before you and will help guide you through.
“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth…” Isaiah 45:2
You don’t need to have access to a “LIKE” button to go out in the world and share a little love.
And to that I say–
LIKE!
Please share! 😉
juleseddy1 