So, Netflix is pretty flipping awesome. Besides the fact that I can watch Friends no matter where I am day or night and ridiculously amazing original shows like Master of None and The Crown, it keeps my racing mind slow down a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and sometimes when I am really tired I like straight up silence, but then the wheels in my mind start spinning. I have committed to reading more this year, but as of now I am pressing play.

So I guess one could say that Netflix is my digital balm (haha). When I am tired or worried or not motivated, a little witty repartee between Chandler and Ross always gets me through the day. I tend to over think almost everything and mull over and rewind events that are not the most pleasant sometimes. I hate the fact that I over analyze, therefore I drown them out with things that bring me joy. And because my iPad and phone are always with me, Netflix is the cure-all.

It so weird in this supposedly super-connected society we live in, that so many of us find comfort and enjoyment in things that are not in the 3-D. It’s like the more ways that we have to keep in touch, the less we talk or see each other in person. So when I am going through something or need a distraction, I turn to what is familiar. That used to be friendships, but now I just get lost in the grown up land of make-believe. It is sort of like it keeps me company when I am alone.

Don’t get me wrong, I have my guy and my daughter. I also talk to and meet with friends on occasion. But I think that people are so busy with their lives, including me, that we have all let our interpersonal skills slide and have in a sense isolated ourselves. A lot of it has to do with the age and stage that many people who I know are in, with kids and work. So in our spare time we only have time with our families because we are spread so thin. But people do seem to see each other less overall.

I have been really reaching out to people more the last few months. I met up with a friend Friday whom I had not seen in 10 months and Saturday another friend for lunch. Tomorrow night, my daughter’s school friend has a super nice mom and they invited us for dinner. This weekend, my guy and I are meeting up with a couple for lunch. So, I am really making an effort to socialize more. I was once the social butterfly who has become less inclined to want to mingle or even talk to friends on the regular as a result of this false electronic “connectedness”.

I am returning to the land of the living, with less social media, because it has added greatly to my lack of socialization. I am grateful for it because that is how I met ML and I won’t totally abandon it because it holds value, but I would rather spend time speaking with loved ones and enjoying them fully. And yes, shows take up time as well, but they offer a source of entertainment for my family and we bond as a result. But I want to live in the moment more and be more present in face to face interactions. Netflix brings comfort and joy, but constantly watching shows about relationships will do little to elevate my own…

simply~

Dee