It’s so easy to fall into the trap. I saw another absurd political meme and was already composing a response to the absurdity in my mind, but just in time I reminded myself I do not wake up in the morning to argue about politics, nor did I log into Facebook to spend the day tilting against absurd windmills.
But here I am spending a significant amount of time scrolling through nonsense that adds nothing to my day. I sometimes wonder if I am psychologically able to keep my “smart” phone in my pocket for a full day.
We engage with the screen instead of with the world around us. The world is silently shouting “Pay attention! See the world! Interact!” while we scroll through what? Do you remember half of what the screen showed you this morning? or 5 minutes ago? That wise saying you laughed at or nodded in agreement — what was it again? Why did you laugh? Wake up, Warren! There’s a life to be led, tasks to accomplish, needs to fill, weight to shed, dogs to steward — see to your life, work for your purpose, seize the day.
The high-tech tools created to teach us and draw us together are being abused to tear us apart and drive us into ignorance and misunderstanding.
Do I have the guts to stand up and cry, “No! I will love my neighbors! I will treat my supposed enemies with kindness!”?
Some will say, “How can you turn your eyes and speak of love when so much wrong is happening hither and yon?” That is precisely when we need not to just speak of love but to engage with the world in a spirit of love.
And so I resisted the urge and scrolled past the absurd meme after lingering over it for a few moments, but more and more I understand that the real solution is not to scroll past the absurdities but to stop scrolling altogether.
