Proper Place
As many of us are social distancing and in quarantine, I'd be very curious to know if the time spent on social media has exponentially increased, and if so, how are we feeling today?
Social media is powerful, and I think it is an amazing platform to reach people, and connect with others. It can be a place of encouragement, and inspiration. Especially during times like we are experiencing today. It can also be an effective avenue to connect with and further the things we are doing, and a resource to come along side of our passions and dreams. My hope is that we would continue to use social media as a resource, tool and give it its proper weight and place in our lives. So let's clarify, I am not antisocial media. Social media is not inherently bad. I like it, and to be frank, this is not even a post about social media - though I'm using it as an example. So you can replace social media with whatever thing, person, activity that captures your time, attention, devotion. For me, I have zero issues with the "system," but I am concerned that over consumption (of anything for that matter) by the user can be distracting, unhealthy and dangerous.
And for those reasons, it is important that we pause often and take inventory of our habits and heart. How well is our soul? Because what served its purpose a few months ago, may no longer be effective today. What we were doing 6 months ago may no longer be furthering us along in a positive direction. What started off as fun or something in our "free time" has taken over our lives. This goes for anything we devote our time, energy and efforts to- it's crucial that we pause long and often enough to take inventory, evaluate, assess because it ultimately impacts our heart and soul.
After pausing and taking inventory, we may need to take the next brave, hard step and that is re-calibrate, reboot, reset or make some changes all together. Before I continue, let me say this, in no way am I suggesting we become flaky, inconsistent and uncommitted people. I am not suggesting that we abandon our responsibilities, forsake our core values, morals and convictions. Nor am I saying we base our decisions and live primarily by our feelings and moods. Or when things get tough, we jump ship and bail. What we need is to pause often and look up. To do the continual work of introspection and reflection. We are changing daily, so we want to make sure that we are changing into the most authentic and truest version of ourselves- and the only way we will ever discover or know that is to go to the Designer.
So with anything in life, not just with social media, we need to identify, classify and put those things in it's proper place. Otherwise, that thing that we once controlled, is now controlling us. That activity or work that we were once running is now running us. It's not an issue of control, it's a matter of putting things in it's proper place, ordering our lives, and stewardship. This requires intentionality. Because if we do not, a slow drift can happen. Or we live as those who are unsure, frazzled, running from one thing to the next, "moving" but never finding a true sense of peace and fulfillment. It’s one thing to look for inspiration, but another matter if we’re imitators or impersonators.
So how are you? When is the last time you took inventory of your life, habits and routines? You have a great opportunity now, today. And it's as simple as just pausing and looking up. The Designer is waiting. He is always available- ready to talk and help. But more powerfully, He offers himself, his very presence to go with us on this journey.
All is well with my soul.
Social media is powerful, and I think it is an amazing platform to reach people, and connect with others. It can be a place of encouragement, and inspiration. Especially during times like we are experiencing today. It can also be an effective avenue to connect with and further the things we are doing, and a resource to come along side of our passions and dreams. My hope is that we would continue to use social media as a resource, tool and give it its proper weight and place in our lives. So let's clarify, I am not antisocial media. Social media is not inherently bad. I like it, and to be frank, this is not even a post about social media - though I'm using it as an example. So you can replace social media with whatever thing, person, activity that captures your time, attention, devotion. For me, I have zero issues with the "system," but I am concerned that over consumption (of anything for that matter) by the user can be distracting, unhealthy and dangerous.
And for those reasons, it is important that we pause often and take inventory of our habits and heart. How well is our soul? Because what served its purpose a few months ago, may no longer be effective today. What we were doing 6 months ago may no longer be furthering us along in a positive direction. What started off as fun or something in our "free time" has taken over our lives. This goes for anything we devote our time, energy and efforts to- it's crucial that we pause long and often enough to take inventory, evaluate, assess because it ultimately impacts our heart and soul.
After pausing and taking inventory, we may need to take the next brave, hard step and that is re-calibrate, reboot, reset or make some changes all together. Before I continue, let me say this, in no way am I suggesting we become flaky, inconsistent and uncommitted people. I am not suggesting that we abandon our responsibilities, forsake our core values, morals and convictions. Nor am I saying we base our decisions and live primarily by our feelings and moods. Or when things get tough, we jump ship and bail. What we need is to pause often and look up. To do the continual work of introspection and reflection. We are changing daily, so we want to make sure that we are changing into the most authentic and truest version of ourselves- and the only way we will ever discover or know that is to go to the Designer.
So with anything in life, not just with social media, we need to identify, classify and put those things in it's proper place. Otherwise, that thing that we once controlled, is now controlling us. That activity or work that we were once running is now running us. It's not an issue of control, it's a matter of putting things in it's proper place, ordering our lives, and stewardship. This requires intentionality. Because if we do not, a slow drift can happen. Or we live as those who are unsure, frazzled, running from one thing to the next, "moving" but never finding a true sense of peace and fulfillment. It’s one thing to look for inspiration, but another matter if we’re imitators or impersonators.
So how are you? When is the last time you took inventory of your life, habits and routines? You have a great opportunity now, today. And it's as simple as just pausing and looking up. The Designer is waiting. He is always available- ready to talk and help. But more powerfully, He offers himself, his very presence to go with us on this journey.
All is well with my soul.
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