A Facebook Farewell

Lately, I’m fighting ever-growing hopelessness, cynicism, anger, and an ebb and flow of many other emotions – but mostly when I pick up my phone. And so it’s time to put it down.

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It’s a crisp 57° this morning in SC. Fall is in the air. I’m reflecting back on the summer and admitting that July was my best month – and not just because we went on vacation and I had a birthday, but it had a lot to do with my putting down social media for those 4 weeks of the month.

I was more engaged with those around me. I was informed, but in an intentional way, going after knowledge and information, instead of allowing it to pursue me for its own agendas. I felt happier, lighter, and, yes, even better connected to community. We all admit this year has been unprecedented; we have seen a lot of things and are still in the middle of much of the craziness. But I’m tired. Lately, I’m fighting ever-growing hopelessness, cynicism, anger, and an ebb and flow of many other emotions – but mostly when I pick up my phone. And so it’s time to put it down.

I don’t want to miss out on the pictures of your kids playing in fall leaves, drinking apple cider, and picking apples in the mountains. I would love to celebrate that you made it out to your favorite team’s football game despite the limited seating and social distancing restrictions. There’s a lot of baby announcements, engagements, and simple daily life posts that I know I won’t see. But there’s also a lot of other things I will no longer see. Division, meanness, browbeating, Scripture used as weapons, politics placed over people, and the list goes on and on. 

Now, I’m not naive enough to think that just because I don’t see it anymore doesn’t mean that stuff is gone. But, aye, there’s the rub: the more time I spend scrolling through all that muck, the less time, energy, and patience I have to take personal responsibility for what I can tangibly do to change any of that. So, I’m saying farewell to Facebook. For how long, I don’t know. Maybe for good – Huh, “for good,” kind of has a tinge of irony when I put it like that, don’t you think?

So that’s the long and short of it. I’m culling social media. Call me, text me, Voxer me, or Marco Polo me. Let’s have a conversation; let’s do life together. Let’s close the gap. I’ll still be floating around the ether of the interwebs to some capacity. But mostly I’ll be in my garden. I’ll be with my chickens or my bees. I’ll be hiking with my family, connecting with my husband, empowering my daughter, investing in my son.

Big hugs to all of you. Many prayers, love, and blessings for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Happy birthday, happy anniversary, congratulations, your baby/puppy/kitten is adorable, Mazel tov, “looks delicious”, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Here’s to an invested life with many happy returns. 

And to messing with the algorithm…

 

 

Featured Image by Austin Distel on Unsplash

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About the Author

Writer, chef, and singer!