A little over two weeks ago, I decided to take a break from Facebook for the rest of lent. I remember in the past I had many roommates that would give up things for lent. I never jumped on the bandwagon of lent for several reasons. First, I’m not catholic. Second, I am not a person of many vices, except for food (in the past), but I didn’t want to turn something spiritual/religious in to another diet. Third, the Lenten season always seemed to approach suddenly before I had time to consider giving up anything for lent.
This year began like any Lenten season. It started, I was hardly aware of when, and the days passed by quickly. That was lent for me.
So how and why did I decided to slightly observe lent? I started realizing that I was spending more time on Facebook than what I wanted. I was feeling a compulsion to check Facebook. It was the first thing I did in the early morning. I would check it and close it and immediately check it again (that’s getting close to the weirdo stage). I would put the babies to bed, clean up, and have plans to do something relaxing like read a book, but I would say, “right after I check Facebook.” I realized I would spend about 45 minutes at the end of the day checking Facebook, and then I wouldn’t have any time left in the night to do anything.
I began to feel trapped and stressed. How much more could I be doing with my life if I didn’t spend a chunk of time at night checking Facebook, plus the additional compulsive few minutes here and there throughout the day?
I spent about 3 days preparing for my break, letting everyone know I was deactivating my account. I decided that every time I felt the compulsion to check Facebook I would either do some crunches, push-ups, or read a bible verse. I started practicing this before I even officially started my break. I actually enjoyed the challenge. It served as a great reminder to do something with my energy.
I originally planned to go only until Easter with my challenge, but I am questioning if I shouldn’t extend my absence. One reason is that last week was so busy with all the sickness that I feel like it didn’t count. I feel like I still need to catch up on my meditation time, because having two babies really clouds the mind. I need every extra moment of free brain time to be spent on meditating on the Word of God, because it is the Bread of Life. I need more free time when I am with my family to invest 100% mentally so I am not distracted by the compulsion to check Facebook at the dinner table or other environments of family time.
I no longer feel the compulsion to check Facebook, and some people will say I should just open it back up and tell myself to only go on x amount of time. However, I don’t know what the parameters should be, and I think I will stay off until I figure it out.
Until then, I will continue to take time to stop and smell the roses, or to stare at the rolling hills.
The rolling hills outside my sister’s house. A beautiful sight for meditation!
Me and the babies on Easter
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