So, I cut Facebook loose for at least 9 days

Okay, I am in phase 1 of my finding myself/finding who my friends are is my mission. I deactivated Facebook and I set it for 9 days. I kept finding myself all throughout the day wanting to log on. Or check in somewhere, etc. I still have my Instagram and my Twitter. But my IG is not as personal and has some friends, but also strangers. Twitter is even less personal and was started because of a fandom (followers of a show) and now I follow a lot of political people on their.

For me, Facebook was personal and had people on there that I felt close to. There are some great people on there that I love. Don’t get me wrong. But, I want more from a relationship than a like. I want to see who is really tried and true. So many times, people are on there just to judge or be nosy. I will find out who my real friends are from this adventure. That is for sure. I don’t post a lot on IG and even less on Twitter. So, I am going to see how my life is and how it feels with less social on media and more social in person.

I am tired of feeling disconnected. I am tired of not seeing people in 3-D. I am wondering if others feel the same as I? So totally in touch with people electronically, but so out of tune with their real lives or issues because of this technology dependence. I know we will never go back to the 80’s, but so many times I wish we could! We had a good president, terrorism was a word I knew nothing about, and race relations were decent.

I digress. We are in this age of technology addiction. I get it. I am typing right now on my laptop. But I really and truly want  am going to  make life simpler. I am working hard to declutter stuff, use technology less and get rid of people who only weigh me down. In the midst of this, I hope to find what I am looking for. Both in other people and myself.

Simply~

Dee

So, have you ever heard the phrase: The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away?

I am a total sucker for the beauty of the Olde English language, but that statement is both powerful and reassuring and scary. When I was standing in front of the ocean yesterday, I started pondering life in a big way, as I often do when I go to the beach. The enormity and vastness of the sea always puts me in a spiritual and pensive mode. I wish I could be an air head just trying to catch some rays, but I always go deep-in thoughts, not the water.:)

Then for some reason I thought: The ocean restoreth and the ocean taketh away. It instantly reminded me of how powerful yet beautiful the ocean is and as much as I love it, I fear it. It is similar to the way I feel about God. I worship and uplift Him, but I fear Him all the same. It’s amazing that something so mesmerizing and calming could also sweep someone away to never be seen again. It made me realize how small I am in the vastness of the world. My little life and even smaller problems are like one grain of sand on one beach and there are thousands of beaches and infinite grains of sand.

I really as of late have thought about what I do have that I value and my life is small in comparison to what I view on other people’s “social media” lives or to their circle of acquaintances. But as much as I love my life and long for a “larger” life, I really like the uniqueness and “weeness” of my life experience. I enjoy the adventures with my daughter and seeing my mom 4 or 5 times a year for a week at a time. I enjoy talking to my mom daily on the phone and not to many other people. Though when it comes down to my birthday or holidays, I see and talk to quite a lot of people, my daily life as with many people has come to communicating pretty much through technology. No wonder so many people are so lonely. They have thousands of friends on social media and maybe 3 people they could actually call on.

Not tooting my own horn, but on my FB and IG, I have around 100 on each and I like it because I feel that the people there are people that care. Or I have a real connection with them and I could probably call on 25 or 30 of them in a time of need because they are more than just a number. Many are family and church members and childhood friends. Some are local people that I have known for a decade or a half a decade and I get together with them a few times a year.

My whole point in all of this is to say that having relationships that are meaningful really makes a difference. I do not win an award for the most followers on any of my networks, nor do I have a gaggle of cards in the mail for my birthday. But I do have a good number of people that think of me and celebrate me and love me and that is all I can ask for. Some of these people may not be what I would consider friends that I would want to be with all of the time because I do tend to attract a quirky bunch. But I am honestly glad that I have them and that they put up with me. Over the years people have been removed from life, I feel by God because I have prayed for people to leave my life that are a strain on me. But along the same vein, some of the people that I lost touch with have become some of my greatest friends/allies/family and I am so grateful to have those relationships are restored.

Things are taken and things are given and I think that if we respect the process and understand that some events happen for reasons that we will never understand that we can live our lives in peace. This is why I pray for peace and pray for goodness and pray for safety because just as there are angels watching over us ready to protect and save, there are other forces just as eager to have a hand in our undoing.

Man oh man I have become quite the serious one in my “not so old age”, but don’t worry, I am celebrating life enough over the next week that fun will balance all of this density out.:) Have a great rest of the weekend and a beautiful upcoming week. No matter if it is a day that you are celebrating or a milestone, or even a heartbreak, there is a lesson to be learned and the fact that you are here and alive and able to experience it is a miracle in itself. And if you have someone you love whom you have not reached out to lately, do it today. A few words or a kind gesture will mean more than you can imagine.

Simply~

Dee

So, I either need a full time job or I have to turn off my “thinker” sometimes…

I wish that I were the kind of person that did not reflect, ponder, and contemplate so much. About everything. I may be in line at the grocery store and see a plastic bag and think of global warming. I may be talking with a friend over coffee to catch up about the wedding that she is planning and I may discuss or at least think about the decline of marriage and family in this country.

It’s not like I am not super fun. Even though I am serious and considerate of important and relevant issues, I have a silly side. I make up silly raps and stories with my kid. I call my cat a million different crazy names and name our friends’ pets silly names too. I go ice skating and bike riding and snow tubing.

But, I can’t help my constant thinking about major issues. I listen to talk radio. I read news online. I follow people who have something important to say. Yeah, I am on Instagram with a “famous” housewife or two as well. But most of the people who I follow either have inspirational/religious quotes on their page or they are sharing something that is a worthy cause that I believe in or want to spread the word about as well.

I am glad I have God-given brains. I would not have done as well in college or grad school if I was not intelligent. But I wish that I was like so many people who I know that live for whatever is going on in their small little world and they do not think about or concern themselves with much more. I would not say that they are simple-minded, but maybe self-centered? Either term is not a positive. Regardless, I wish that I were one of those people who took selfies all day and showed my latest nail color on whatever social media site. Okay, maybe not that shallow, but less deep.

But, I am not. So, I will embrace the over-thinker that I am and maybe change the world with some of my thoughts or musings or theories. Or, maybe I can support the world changers. Nevertheless, I will have to find a way to “turn off” my deep thinking sometimes in order to relax and enjoy life a little more.

I am wondering if perhaps a romantic interest will help with that??? 🙂

Simply~

Dee