Cup of Jo

Jello,

This has been an interesting past couple of weeks.
It all started the day I deleted my facebook. I don't remember what day it actually was, it was probably not as far back as I'm thinking it must have been. But that's what happens when you let go of something you have been doing forever, it feels like forever since you've done it when it's gone for a short period of time.
I deleted it for a number of reasons, and many people called me crazy for doing so.
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great things about having a facebook like connecting or reconnecting with old friends. It's sometimes good to know how people want to portray themselves, and it's cool to keep up with people who maybe live far away.

And trust me, I've felt separated or out of the loop a little since i deleted it. (Seriously, people talk about Facebook and statuses more than I ever realized)

But I've also felt a huge sense of...

Release.

I no longer have to try to come up with something clever for my status. I don't have to read cryptic statuses or keep up with people's melodrama. I don't have to worry about whether a picture is Facebook worthy or not. I don't have to tell people to find me on facebook so they can find out all about me without ever talking to me in person. I've been able to let seasons of my life pass. People come and go, and I love keeping up with them, but I can't hold onto people with the grip of social networking anymore. I don't have to worry about a boss trying to find me on Facebook to see what I'm 'really like'. I no longer have or can act on the temptation to facebook stalk other people, and no one can facebook stalk me anymore.

I get to discover people in a real, face to face way...not profile to profile.

And I've had more time to engage in the present. I understand that Facebook has a live feed that is constantly updating, but what about the people that are around me in person?
It's not like i was spending copious amounts of time on facebook or anything, I'd log on just in time to distract myself from homework, write a status that went something like "Avoiding homework again! Talk to me :)". Then I would realize that no one wanted to talk to me unless i started the conversation first, so I'd scroll allll the way down my live feed getting the 411 on all of my acquaintances, then I'd log off and move on.

But still, since i know that you had "Such a great time at the lake last weekend" and i saw all of your pictures, i have no need to pursue an actual relationship and ask how your weekend was, because i already know.

Not having a facebook, no matter how minimal my usage of it was, has been a good thing. I've had more meaningful in person conversations, I've stopped posting petty or vain statuses and thinking about dumb things like profile pictures. And I've had time to be still.

Stillness is a practice that my generation has lost. Free time means computer time, instead of sit outside and think time. Boredom is not something we're okay with. Rest is considered laziness. We are going...going...gone. We have people at our fingertips to talk to, instead of meditating on Christ in the times that we find ourselves alone. I am not satisfied with that anymore.
Therefore,I'm working on perfecting my stillness.

Please don't take this blog the wrong way. I'm not trying to convince you to delete your facebook. I'm simply pointing out that life does go on without it. Moreover, I have even found life more fulfilling by saying goodbye to a profile, news feed, and friend list, and hello to an unconnected existence in the present, engaged in Christ and in those around me.

Be where you are.

♥