[Pearls Ep 148: Bringing Sunday into the week.]
We’ve been looking at Advent, and St. John the Baptist’s example of going out into the wilderness – a place of solitude, simplicity and reflection.
It’s also a place of very poor cell reception.
In fact, it’s best to just leave the soul-sucking-device (SSD) at home.
In that Spirit, at Interior Life we have always recommended a near zero-tolerance approach to being online and tuned into mainstream media, including but not limited to – “social” media (antisocial media), “entertainment” media (sleaze on-demand), and “news” media (the original disinformation). All of which is instantly shoveled into our brains through our SSD.
Advent is a particularly good time to take a break from these diabolical little devices, so that we can take time instead to make spiritual room, to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
Below, for your edification, are some suggested rules of engagement for two common scenarios. You’re probably right there, or ahead of us on these things, in which case you can take this just as confirmation and encouragement for what you’re already doing!
- “Being online is how I stay connected to people and what’s happening in the world.”
As far as maintaining meaningful relationships, relegate the SSD and social media to the method of very last resort. Calling is better than texting. Visiting is better than calling. And just say “no” to voyeuristic “friendships” on fakebook and Instagram. As far as so-called “news” – there’s very little we need to carry out our daily responsibilities, and for that little bit we just need to choose carefully (our daily go-to is Catholic Loop).
- “If we don’t have Christians online, especially participating in social media, it will go to the dogs.”
If you genuinely view your time online as missionary work (many people do, and rightly so) – then treat it accordingly. Missionaries had to work hard to stick to the truths of the faith when they were immersed in the pagan world. Treat your time online in the same way, because however good our intentions, we are still bombarded with the unwanted filth of pop-up adds, nasty comments, dumbed-down content, and so forth. We recommend at least a 1:1 ratio of time online to time in meditation, as a way to detox and make sure our interior life is not getting infected with the spirit of the world.
All of that is much easier said than done because the cunning purveyors of all things online make it difficult to detach from our SSD. In the postscript we present one particular tactic to break the SSD habit, and we have a number of additional suggestions on healthy ways to avoid the SSD in this week’s Pearls episode and also in 30 Days to Christian Meditation.
Wishing you a peaceful 2nd week of Advent –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: The 20-second tactic to conquer the SSD.
One simple tactic is the 20-second rule. Make the SSD 20 seconds harder to access by keeping it turned off when not in use (we know, “then people can’t reach me” – exactly). Then, when the impulse comes to reach for it, the restart process give precious time (about 20 seconds) to pray “come Holy Spirit strengthen me.” You can also send up a quick prayer to renounce spirits of voyeurism, procrastination, gossip, lust, etc.