Learning from Disconnection

Fasting from social media has been eye opening and difficult. Realizing all my news and updates came from the one thing I was giving up for Lent left me feeling outside all alone.

Is there a place for connection outside the internet in 2021?

In the disconnection there is surprising freedom with letting go of curating the perfect words for a beautiful picture. At some point I actually thought I might stop taking photographs yet, it never happened. Realizing I love exploring nature and capturing it with a lens was essential to my creative process.

Connecting via text, FaceTime and even face to face became more important without the superficial sometimes depth lacking friendships of social media.

So does this mean no more Instagram or Facebook for me?

Probably not.

More importantly than giving it up is realizing the need for limiting whom I follow and more boundaries with my time utilizing them both.

Building a platform has become less important and nonessential. After watching the documentary Fake Famous on HBO Max I realized the coveted blue check mark was mostly curated through buying bots and/or spending the equivalent of a full time job trying to gain followers.

If what we are seeking is to share our words of encouragement then does it matter if that is to one person or one million?

I know now not all my words are for everyone. Not all my thoughts are important or meaningful to the masses. Maybe it’s okay to just be authentic and real to the few.

With the beginning of Holy Week and the end of my fasting I am excited to see how I can continue to keep the sabbath and minimize my time mindlessly scrolling through the rest of the year.

Learning to live more intentionally in “ordinary times” has always proven to be a struggle for me yet, with the focus purely on established rhythms I believe it’s possible to stay focused on finding joy everyday outside of scrolling or binging for entertainment.

When we pause to smell the roses we can begin to create some freedom in our minds and souls.

Avoid the social norms. Break the rules. Find your freedom. Live your life.

Basically do you unapologetically.