Let's say it out loud right now.
We all have a love/hate relationship with all things social media.
Instagram.
Facebook.
Twitter.
YouTube.
Whatever your social media outlet is.
We've all heard, "It's awful there. It will ruin your life. It is for those who just are out to spew venom. It will sap your energy. And most of all, it is GOD-forsaken."
But no matter what we hear or what we believe, we still find ourselves scrolling, checking, clicking, watching, commenting, emoji-ing.
At one point, I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt DONE with all the posts and comments about politics, race, religion, whether or not my dog is better than your dog. You get it.
I had just read a chapter in a book and it was titled "Quit Something." So I set out to quit the whole thing. It would be super hard for this Dolly Mama since I had put so much energy and effort into creating spaces that I loved and followers that I had gotten to know.
But I was determined anyway.
For about five minutes.
Right there, laptop open and fingers at the ready, the big idea (that I was trying to live my life by) of the "both and" jolted me out of my resoluteness (is that a word?).
What's the "both and?"
I'm glad you asked.
It's moving away from all-or-nothing thinking into a space of nuance and wonder.
It's moving away from a perfection or failure mindset into a place of freedom and grace.
It's allowing for things to NOT be 100 or 0. All or nothing.
Back to social media.
So what was I supposed to do now? With this supposed beast? If I didn't quit the WHOLE thing, what could I do instead? How could I incorporate nuance and wonder, freedom and grace right there on my screen?
Was it really GOD-forsaken, a place where God was NOT?
I don't believe there is anywhere that God is NOT.
So with that in mind, I did a completely different thing.
I DID QUIT. Something. But not everything.
I sat down and unfollowed all the people, influencers, pages, whatevers that were not bringing me life, that were toxic for me, that were just plain bad for my soul.
It took almost the whole afternoon. Lots of work.
And I found out a whole bunch of things.
There were a lot unfollows on my part.
I whittled my way down to about one-third of my friends and about 10% of who I followed.
But also guess what?
There were also many friends who made the cut. Many influencers that I happily did NOT "unlike."
It felt good. Really good.
Because just like everywhere else that feels really dark and horrible and worth cutting completely out or off, God is there.
God is in the smiles of the kids in my friends' pictures.
God is in the digital message I just received from someone who is hurting and has no one physically beside them.
God is in the video of a baby goat prancing around gleefully.
I've gotten really savvy about how to make good boundaries with this part of my life that is probably not going away anytime soon.
I'm slowly learning how to keep it in it's rightful place to help me be connected to those I love or those I serve or those I influence without taking over my day, my headspace, and mostly my sacred soul.
And I'm so so grateful that for many of you who are reading this today, it is the very thing that brought us together. How incredibly wonderful is that?! From my heart to yours,
Esther
P.S. You can still hate social media and not ever go on it again. I don't blame you. There are days I feel the same way.
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