Hey there old friend
Hey there old friend,
It's been a while. In fact, it's been a really long while. Some of you might be wondering what's going on in my life. Did I get eaten by a giant animal? Did I run away to another country? Did I forget that I had a blog? Well in fact, none of those things actually happened. However, these past few months have certainly been busy.
The month of March was a month of fasting from technology. Now being that my job is fairly technologically based, this was not avoided at all costs, but I greatly reduced the amount of time I spent using technological devices. It meant no movies, no tv, no facebook, no pinterest, no twitter, no browsing random articles, no texting, no instant messages and no music (although this one had some exceptions because I couldn't really demand that everyone around me stop listening to it). The goal of this was not wasting time doing things that were not constructive and most of all improving my communication and quality time with others. So what did I learn from all of this you ask? (I know you are all dying to know.)
First of all, I learned that I didn't really miss any of things. "What?" you ask. You mean even Facebook? I honestly felt a freedom that I haven't felt in a long time in letting it go. Most of the time my excuse for having it is to keep in touch with others and let people know what I'm up to many miles away. But how often do I truly use it for that? How many people truly noticed I was gone? But I felt a sense of freedom that I didn't need to worry so much about what other people thought. I must admit that even feeling content is easier when you aren't constantly comparing your life with that of others. While that isn't the goal, I think on a subconscious level it happens. When I am living in the moment and enjoying the life right around me, I feel far more content with what I have. I didn't feel glued to my computer or my phone.
Many of the people who I'm closest with knew how to still contact me, and they did so (not that the rest of you aren't important). I was transported back in time to when I used to actually email my friends. You might ask, well what is the difference truly? I have found that when I take the time to decide to email a specific person, I write it more like a letter. I ask deeper questions and I explain what's really going on in my life. And I talked on the phone to people. Ha. I sat on my bed and on the couch and giggled and felt like I was in Jr. High. When is the last time you thought about a friend or just wanted to talk to them and so you picked up the phone and said hello? So all of a sudden I was intentionally emailing old friend and updating them on real life things. I was getting to know a new friend by emailing and asking questions. I was talking on the phone just to tell a friend how life was going.
I learned that I spend a lot of time and energy on things that don't matter. I learned that I use things like movies as fillers instead of really spending real time with people. So I encourage you, whether you want to get rid of these things or not, add some of these new things to your life. Send someone an email or a letter if that's possible. Pick up the phone and call a friend. Ask them to get coffee instead of seeing a movie. Have a game night with your family. The possibilities are endless. I know that God really blessed me through this time and I hope that some of the energy it helped give me rubs off on you!
Well friend, I've already written far too much. The problem is I'll probably have to get back to you on the rest and not wait so long next time.
It's been a while. In fact, it's been a really long while. Some of you might be wondering what's going on in my life. Did I get eaten by a giant animal? Did I run away to another country? Did I forget that I had a blog? Well in fact, none of those things actually happened. However, these past few months have certainly been busy.
The month of March was a month of fasting from technology. Now being that my job is fairly technologically based, this was not avoided at all costs, but I greatly reduced the amount of time I spent using technological devices. It meant no movies, no tv, no facebook, no pinterest, no twitter, no browsing random articles, no texting, no instant messages and no music (although this one had some exceptions because I couldn't really demand that everyone around me stop listening to it). The goal of this was not wasting time doing things that were not constructive and most of all improving my communication and quality time with others. So what did I learn from all of this you ask? (I know you are all dying to know.)
First of all, I learned that I didn't really miss any of things. "What?" you ask. You mean even Facebook? I honestly felt a freedom that I haven't felt in a long time in letting it go. Most of the time my excuse for having it is to keep in touch with others and let people know what I'm up to many miles away. But how often do I truly use it for that? How many people truly noticed I was gone? But I felt a sense of freedom that I didn't need to worry so much about what other people thought. I must admit that even feeling content is easier when you aren't constantly comparing your life with that of others. While that isn't the goal, I think on a subconscious level it happens. When I am living in the moment and enjoying the life right around me, I feel far more content with what I have. I didn't feel glued to my computer or my phone.
Many of the people who I'm closest with knew how to still contact me, and they did so (not that the rest of you aren't important). I was transported back in time to when I used to actually email my friends. You might ask, well what is the difference truly? I have found that when I take the time to decide to email a specific person, I write it more like a letter. I ask deeper questions and I explain what's really going on in my life. And I talked on the phone to people. Ha. I sat on my bed and on the couch and giggled and felt like I was in Jr. High. When is the last time you thought about a friend or just wanted to talk to them and so you picked up the phone and said hello? So all of a sudden I was intentionally emailing old friend and updating them on real life things. I was getting to know a new friend by emailing and asking questions. I was talking on the phone just to tell a friend how life was going.
I learned that I spend a lot of time and energy on things that don't matter. I learned that I use things like movies as fillers instead of really spending real time with people. So I encourage you, whether you want to get rid of these things or not, add some of these new things to your life. Send someone an email or a letter if that's possible. Pick up the phone and call a friend. Ask them to get coffee instead of seeing a movie. Have a game night with your family. The possibilities are endless. I know that God really blessed me through this time and I hope that some of the energy it helped give me rubs off on you!
Well friend, I've already written far too much. The problem is I'll probably have to get back to you on the rest and not wait so long next time.
Deal.
ReplyDelete