“The more in harmony with yourself you are, the more joyful you are and the more faithful you are. Faith is not to disconnect you from reality - it connects you to reality.” Paulo Coelho
I have decided to take a much needed sabbatical from social media. We don’t realize it but social media can become toxic. Even though I try to concentrate on just positive posts, it’s difficult to keep the negative completely out. I’ve been feeling lately like something is out of line in my life, and even though I’m not going to place the blame 💯 % on social media, it’s definitely not helping me. I’m spending way too much time with my eyes glued to my phone, surfing the social media pages. I hope that by disconnecting, I can reconnect with the things and the people that truly matter.
Most of us use social media for one of three reasons:
The first one is to try to show the world that what we believe in is the right thing, and if you don’t agree with me then you are wrong. This could be about anything: religion, politics, the way we deal with the pandemic, gun control, abortion, how to bring up our kids, etc. The problem with using social media platforms to try to convince others that my point of view is the right one, it’s that since we are not seeing the other person face to face, we feel empowered to say things that we normally would not say to their face. We are not going to change anyone’s mind this way, therefore all we are accomplishing is getting angry and alienating others against us.
The second one is to show off. We share what an amazing trip we just had or what a beautiful wedding we attended or the awards that our kids received in school or… We show in social media all the amazing things that are happening in our life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but the problem is that it gives everyone else a sense that my life is perfect when in reality no one’s life is completely perfect. We only show what we want the rest of the world to see. We share the photos of our idyllic trip, but if we had a huge fight during our trip or we caught a horrible stomach virus that made part of our trip not so great, we don’t share that. If our kids got an F or a detention, we don’t share that. We only mention the honor rolls and the straight As, to the point that it seems like everyone has perfect kids. Social media makes us look at others through rose colored glasses, and life is not always rosy.
The third reason is to share positive posts, jokes or prayers. This is actually my favorite. It’s neutral. Jokes make everyone laugh. We can all use some positivity in our lives. And when we are empowered to ask for prayers, it means that we really need them. But most people are too private to share their pain and suffering on social media. I for one was brought up under the assumption that nobody cares about anyone else’s problems so it’s best to keep them to myself. There is a gap within all of us between joy and pain. We all experience moments of happiness and moments of pain. Lately, this gap within me has become too wide. It’s time to close the gap, and I’m placing all my hope on this summer sabbatical.
Therefore, for the next three months, I’m going to hit the “pause” bottom on my social media accounts. I will continue to share my blog posts when I’m inspired to write, but that’s it. I will not read or reply to any posts or comments. If you want to reach out, do so the old fashioned way. Phone calls or messages are welcome, but more than anything, I need your prayers so that I can once again feel the inner joy that has been evading me somehow. I hope this summer sabbatical will allow me to disconnect so I can reconnect with myself and God, that it will help me to focus more on my marriage and my family, and that it will help me find the insight that I’m seeking as to why I’m feeling a little out of line. I hope that you keep me in your prayers, and I promise to keep you in my prayers too. 🙏🥰🙏
Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
Amen!
ReplyDelete