Why I dropped Facebook (and threw away my watch and don't pick up my phone)

So I dropped Facebook.

Yep.

I deactivated my account. And it's kind of a great rush. No more social pressure. No more checking to see if anyone "likes" my music video postings, my status updates, my comments, or anything in between.

It's like living in the 90's again. Remember that pre-social networking era?

When people would talk to one another. When we had answering machines and didn't wait for texts or returned calls. We just lived life and moved at our own brisk pace. Now there's no scientific study to prove what I'm about to write, nor is there any real proof to explain what I'm about to say, except pure human observation, but I am convinced that the current generation of young adults are less happy than any group before them. And I believe the reason for this stems from the constant need to publish every stupid thought they ever had and then be responded to in a timely manner.

I can remember (and I'm only 29) when someone would call and it might have taken a day or two to call them back. No one was offended. You just knew that if they were out for the day, they just wouldn't be able to get back to you in the timeliest manner. They were busy living life, and that was cool. But now, this young group can ask a question or post a picture via text, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Instagram, and blog and then get instant feedback.

But what if no one texts you back? Or comments on your page? Or likes your pictures? Or thinks your tweet is insightful? Because we have access to these ideas everywhere we go. iPhone. Computer. Cell Phone. There is no excuse not to respond, so I've decided to limit what the information I gather is. If I don't know your day was sucky, then I can't respond to it. And then you can't hate me for not knowing. It's weak logic, but logic none the less.  

The sad part is that this generation will know through silence that no one cares enough to reply. And that pressure carries on in daily life. You post a funny article and it's as if no one read it. You write about your day at the beach, and no one says, "sounds fun." It's like passive rejection on a daily (or hourly) basis. That just kills. Even if you want to admit it or not, you posted what you posted, or text what you text in hopes of a response, and then there is nothing. Not even a whimper. And you live with that realization in either a conscious or unconscious way.

Unless you are a pretty girl. Then EVERYONE wants to let you know they are aware!

This new way of communicating has to lead to unhappiness. And that ain't good.

So here's my solution. Start the revolution. Drop the social networking and go back to a simpler time. We may be able to regain our soul through a simple tech fast.

I remember one time I was sitting at a friends house. His phone was ringing. He didn't pick up. I was going insane. I was always taught to pick up the phone. I yelled at him to pick it up. He said, "Just because they called, doesn't mean I have to answer." That never occurred to me before. So I took that to heart. And sometimes I don't pick up. Then I knew a truck driver who never kept a watch. That made me insane, because I'm a time freak. But he told me, when I'm at work, my truck has a clock, and when I'm off work, I don't care what time it was. So I threw away my watch. It was amazing. Free at last. Free at last. Now I'm doing the same thing with Facebook. Just because you have something to say doesn't mean I need to know it, and just because I have something to say doesn't mean you have to read it. Or respond to it...

And on that note, lemme make you happy with some Van Morrison:

Listen to it. Don't listen to it. I don't care anymore. And that's the greatest feeling of all! 

I got the greatest compliment the other day...

So we all enjoy compliments. We all like being associated with great men and women...

Recently, a friend of mine told me when she reads C.S. Lewis...

...she thought of me.

Now that's a compliment.

For those who aren't aware of C.S. Lewis, he wrote the great Narnia books, but he is also considered the most important Christian theologian in the past 100 years by many...



This gets me thinking.

What is the best compliment you ever got?
The nicest thing anyone ever said to you?

Because in the end...try not to remember the crap
people say. Try to remember the good stuff.




Life is so messy. One day we are up. The next we are down. Our friends love us one sec, then we become a burden the next. Work is praising us on Monday and telling us to get it together by Thursday. The car works fine one moment, and $500 dollars later, we're in the shop waiting to get it fixed. The bank account has too much one day and not enough in the morning. Prayers are answered yes. Prayers are answered no. Smiles across the face. Then tears flowing. The rollercoasters are too much. So that's why we need to keep the parts we love attached to us and discard the parts that break us.

Take a moment to remember the time someone saw the best in you. And hold onto it.

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body. ~ C.S. Lewis 

Keep Your Head Up

There's a point in life when you realize you aren't what you thought you'd be. Not even close. The dreams of your youth have quitely become flickering memories of an era gone. You aren't what that 10 year old pretended to be. Or what that 16 year old wanted to be. Instead, you are simply just You. But that really isn't a bad thing. Because you are the only You that will ever be. And that is a comforting thought. :)

When you can't sleep....

I find it ironic that as a kid the one thing you never wanted to do is go to bed...

...but when you get older the main thing you look forward to is just that...

That's the Kool Aid, you just drank it.

Garage Sales

It's Saturday.

It's 6:30am.

I'm up.

Guess what I'm doing? The Suburbican Pastime!

                                                                           That's the Kool Aid, and you just drank it.

Who are you?

Have you ever just stared into a mirror and thought "Who am I?"

When you see the world around you, do you get scared? excited? worried? happy? hopeful? peaceful?

The truth is we all wonder where we came from and where we are going. Should I marry? Should I work here? How about there?

Most of us feel alone. Like no one understands us. Like it's Me v. The World, and the world is currently undefeated...










If you took a science class ever, you would believe you are a cosmic accident or simply an extension of the animal kingdom where ruthlessness rules...you evolved from nothing...to become and accomplish nothing...

Maybe that's why we make so many mistakes. So many times we get into bad relationships, take on jobs we don't like, buy stuff we don't need, and say things we don't mean. We see life as having no purpose. No point. But if that's so true, then why do always search for the meaning or the point?

"Why would he say that?"                         
"What did she mean by that?"
"What do you think this story means?"
"What's the point of this?"
"Why would you do that?"

It's almost as if we have an innate characteristic to search for meaning.  So where does this meaning come from? Sometimes I wonder if life has true purpose...


But then I read Genesis 1:26:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So maybe our purpose was predestine for us. That we are the image and likeness of an all-mighty Creator. A God who declared that the human race would not be part of nature, but be above it. That people would rule on earth over creation just as their Creator rules above.

There is a great story about Alexander the Great. A thief was brought before him, and Alexander asked him what his name was. The thief, tears and snot dropping from his face, pouted out, "My name is Alexander." So the great ruler grabbed him by the shirt, lifted him eye to eye and pronounced, "Either change your name or change your conduct."

You are the image bearer of a great God. Always keep that in mind. And act like it.

That's the Kool Aid, and you just drank it.

Cock-a-Doodle-Don't!

It's 5:00 AM.

I should be doing this...

But instead I'm doing this...

And all because it turns out my neighbors have this...

      That's the Kool Aid, and you just drank it.

What if you got whatever you wanted?

Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if I got everything I ever wanted. You know...

The Car...

...the Girl...

...the Pad

...the Job

What if my fantasy life became reality? It seems like such a terrific idea. But then I think about all the people who have those things. They really don't seem that happy.

Does Donald Trump really look like a happy man?

Does having everything even make you a better person? All the evil dictators throughout history from Pharaoh to Kim Jong-il have had these things, and they are murderers and tyrants.

So maybe it's best I don't get everything I ever wanted. Because then I really might be happy.

That's the Kool Aid, and you just drank it.

Singlehood

Bill Cosby wrote Fatherhood. Ron Howard directed Parenthood. But where is Singlehood?

Being single is not a disease...

It's not like if you are single for a while, you turn into a zombie or something.

But if you watched Hollywood over the past 100 years, the point of life is to get married and have children. I find that hard to believe. The reason I find that hard to believe, is because once people get married, over 50% get divorced.

You see...what is really wanted isn't marriage. What my guess is, is that women just want the wedding and men want the monkey off the back.

Women want that wedding more than anything. They want the bridal shower, the engagement party, the ceremony, and the honeymoon.

As for the actually marriage...we'll worry about that once the lawyers get involved.

Men? We want people to look at us as men. And NOTHING our society treasures more in a man, is marriage. This is why when men wear wedding rings (even if single) other women find them more attractive. It is the difference between boys and men, in most people's eyes.

Well I disagree. True Men are trustworthy (lots of married guys cheat). True Men are honest, loyal, caring, helpful, and patient (you seen these dudes with their wives? Most men snap back like a lion after its prey).

So let's not think for a second that being married makes you any better than anyone else. Or makes you more of a man or woman.

Because the greatest men in real life or fake life, be it Jesus or Gandalf, were single.

That's the Kool Aid, and you just drank it.

Women (Let's upset everyone right from the start)

I've come to the conclusion that whenever girls say they want a nice guy, they are actually using an incomplete sentence.

What they really are saying is "Why can't I just meet a nice guy...(who looks like Justin Timberlake)?"

That's the kool aid and you just drank it.