The off button....

We are in a world awash with information.  We know far too much about everyone else, and surprisingly little, sometimes, about those closest to us.  I do know want to know what Hollywood star is dating whom, whether they have had affairs or marital problems, or that their children are either successful or a mess.  I don't want to hear about the private lives of politicians, and I really don't want to know the intimate details of the British, Swedish or Norwegian royal families.

I believe in mystique.  I believe that we are better off not knowing everything about everyone.  I believe in personal privacy, not because I have something to hide, but because I simply don't think it's anyone else's business what toilet paper I buy or whether I use Verizon or AT&T.

Social media is here to stay.  Anyone who has deluded themselves into thinking the fad will pass has clearly not been paying attention.  It is difficult, in this day and age, to avoid it, because it is everywhere, and if you don't use it, you will be left behind.  But don't kid yourself.  These media sites do not exist for our benefit, whatever blather they may tout publicly about wanting to positively impact people's lives.  Quite simply, they exist to mine data about us, so that companies can throw ads at us to buy their products so they can make money off our personal details, which we agreed to provide for free in the fine print of every online transaction we have ever engaged in.

But there is this cool option called the off button, whereby you take control of your life and tune out for a little while.  I use it a lot.  I stop watching the news.  I quit worrying about what other people, whom I don't know, and whose lives only tangentially impact mine, are doing.  I read a book.  I do counted cross stitch.  I talk to my husband on the phone.  I FaceTime with my children and grandchildren.  I go out to dinner with my mom or my friends or relatives.  I shovel snow or mow the lawn or landscape or vacuum or engage in a hobby.  Real time, living life.

I love the ability to keep in touch provided by social media.  I enjoy seeing photos of my family and friends enjoying their lives.  Social media, in and of itself, isn't bad.  But I also enjoy tuning out of cyberspace, because the influence it holds over people's lives is scary sometimes.  Bullying, harassment, exposure, intimidation, fear - all are found on social media sites on a routine basis, and I find it overwhelming, at times.

In Psalm 37:7 we read,

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;  do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Today I am grateful for all the small ways I can tune into what is real in my life.  I will rest easy in the knowledge that God is present in this place, and he is in control of what happens.  Even as I post this on social media, run by Google, and data mining each word I publish, God can use those words he puts in my head for his purpose, and not theirs.  The off button is in my hands.

Dear Lord, thank you for the off buttons you have provided in my life.  The brief moments away from the intrusion of the world are the moments of rest I need to live life fully, and I am grateful for them.  Amen.