Spoons

You know you’re spending too much time staring at screens when you go outside and your first thought is, “Wow, the graphics are amazing out here!”

I usually try to keep my social media posts fairly innocuous.

Please believe that’s it’s not because I don’t have opinions or that I’m never angry enough to write a scathing, finger pointing, rambling piece of literary genius.

Our current world and political landscape is a minefield of explosive opinion and with very little actual “research” being done before the too often, nastiest of posts hits the time line. These posts of course, invite the return volley and seldom do they ever reconcile in peace, learning or anything even remotely resembling truth.

Social media was once a virtual gathering place. A place to nurture personal connections with friends near and far, but especially far. I loved being able to see pics and videos of my niece who was born and lived in another country for the first few years of her life.
It was a place to reconnect with old friends. Some of us have actually gotten together and had some wonderful times in person because we were able to find each other again.

These days, though, too many people seem … just plain angry. Social media is full of scammers, misinformation and vitriol and I just don’t have the “spoons” for it. I chose instead to look for things that might boost a little Serotonin in my brain and if I’m lucky, into yours as well.

BTW … Are you familiar with Spoon theory? My girlfriend introduced the idea to me a year or so ago. Spoon theory is basically a metaphor that is used to describe the amount of mental or physical energy we each have available on a daily basis, to do life. It was developed by Christine Miserandino in 2003, who used spoons to provide a visual representation of how much energy an individual might have and how mental and physical challenges often make it necessary to ration the use of those “spoons” to get through the day.

I have found in recent years, that over use of social media can often deplete my entire spoon inventory in just a few minutes in the morning. I do not always have the spoons to deal with the anger, misinformation, political rhetoric and general lack of grace and kindness I find on line.

An interesting story hit my desk this week. The study showed that taking even a one-week break from social media, makes us happier. Researchers asked 150 people who use it every day to stay off it for a week. And by the end, they were less stressed, less depressed, and happier overall. You’ll find that story HERE if you’re interested.

So, I’m trying to make it a priority to put my phone away. My best buddy simply deleted the apps from his phone to help him regulate his social media time. I haven’t done that … yet … because I often require access to social for work, but I am doing better at just putting the darn phone down and walking away for a while. I even left the house without it a couple of times this past week.

Stay well my friend. Here are a few images/moments that from this past week that brought me a little peace from the noise:

Categorised in: Blogs, Mornings, Uncategorized

This post was written by Phil Main