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| My pursuit of finding God in the present moment |
One of the scariest and most wonderful gifts of self-reflection through writing for me is the constant evaluation of myself. A few months ago, I began to feel like my posts about pulling away from distractions were actually speaking to me specifically and I began to listen. By weaning myself slowly from blogs and Facebook, I have found my appetite for delightful distraction has shrunk considerably, and my presence in real life was something to be grasped again.
System crash
Back in August, I felt like my poor overworked mind had run a marathon and had hit the proverbial “wall” which runners describe. I just began to feel like I couldn’t write about a life I wasn’t living, because I was too busy scrolling on my lap top or getting on my phone to scan through Facebook every 10 minutes to be inundated by beautiful pictures of people I love and amazing articles by people I admire.
Shutdown
All of this coincided with a Focolare retreat, which epitomized “living in the present moment” and loving people by listening better. And soon after I began a reading group for a book by the name of “Simplicity Parenting,” emphasizing clearing your home, mind and heart of life’s clutter in order to be a better spouse and parent.
Unplugged
I sat here staring at this screen which was blank moments ago, blinking away bleary eyes, assuring my husband I’d “get to bed soon,” as I do on so many nights. The realization struck me that I’ve been in denial for a few months now. The theme of simplification seems to be what I desire to write about most, and therefore, I must have hit a wall. Is it blogger’s block, or is it a doorway to new things? I am not sure. But the Holy Spirit assures me that I won’t be left behind, or feel irrelevant, that I must follow where I am led.
Re-boot
More and more people are choosing to disappear from social media, and I get it. Where did my life go and why do I feel like I’m 70 in dog years? And who was I before I felt compelled to tell the whole world what kind of sandwich I am eating at lunch every day? (Is it okay to not have a sandwich-making fan club???)
I suppose some have a “take it or leave it” approach to social media, but I have more of a cookie monster inhalation approach, or maybe the all-consuming St. Terese approach of “I choose all!” Knowing this about myself, I will probably always struggle with my need to be “in the know,” and my simultaneous desire to “be away from it all.”
Refresh
But may I encourage you, kind reader, as others have helped me, to spend your time tending to the eternal things… your thoughts and feelings, your dreams and the deepest hopes of your soul. And also the temporal things…like your child’s not so fresh diaper, your plants and maybe some of those bills. 🙂 Life is a balance and the eternal has to co-exist with the temporal. I am learning they really can fold into one another quite beautifully.
Wonderful idea that we all can (including myself) learn from. I often feel like an old, crotchety stick in the mud when I tell people I don’t have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any of the seemingly hundreds of “apps” on our computers, phones, etc. Fortunately, I don’t even know how to use most of them. My phone just makes phone calls…purposely. Otherwise, I would probably be doing the same thing.
A couple of examples that I noticed just in the last couple of weeks. I attended a Christmas pageant for my great nephew at a local church. There were proud parents and family members all around. Wonderful. But when the pageant started, just about all (I am not exaggerating here) the parents got up and started taking picture after picture or filming the event. The children literally had a startled look on their face and I felt I was at a press conference. And honestly, I sort of felt guilty I didn’t bring a camera…I am not above this.
It’s great to be proud of our children. But do we really need to take dozens of pictures instead of just BEING there for the kids? The pictures in our heads and hearts of our wonderful memories count for something, don’t they? Being in the moment….
Another example. I was walking along a trail the other day going back to my car. Five cars passed me and I noticed that EVERY one of them was on their phone and one was unfortunately texting. And I am guilty of this, too. Well, not the texting while driving part….
Nothing against social media, but I often wonder if we just have too much information nowadays and it does prevent us from being in the moment, those moments we never get back because they are the moment that we are in. At nearly 55, (and not even in dog years) I get this now more than ever. It is never too late.
Thanks for your blog and for reminding me to be in the moment. And I won’t have to “like” this on Facebook…:)
I love how you put it…”tending to the eternal things”. Lovely.
Thank you for reading, Mark! Living in the present is definitely a challenge for me, but the fruits can be so rewarding, it makes it easier to remember why it’s so well worth doing! Bless you in this new year and thanks for visiting!