Ancient today

Gosh, Birthdays are great aren’t they? There’s something so lovely about thoughtful words and gifts, handpicked and carefully selected. Today I am so grateful for all the warm wishes from friends and some delightful gifts including:

- A parkrun wristband with my barcode on it, which is far nicer than the skanky bit of laminated paper I usually pull out of my bra post-run.

- Some wonderfully chosen books.

- The best camping food kit in the world.

- Time spent with precious people.

I’ve had a good day.

- - - - -

I wanted to write down, for my own benefit more than anything, why I’ve decided to give up social media (instagram, facebook and twitter) for lent. I considered the usual: coffee, alcohol, snacks - but I knew there wouldn’t be a great deal of sacrifice in any of those things, really. I knew social media would be the hardest thing to give up but also the thing that probably has the most negative impact on my life. Social media is bad for me because:

a) It robs me of time. The first thing in the morning, in between jobs at work, while watching tv and even while having conversations - mindless scrolling. Over the years I’ve been using social media I have read fewer books and, shamefully, spent less time in prayer. I want to stop myself from letting social media rob my time.

b) It leads me to comparison. I am, for the most part, a very contented human. I love my job, I love my home, I love my friends and my family and I love the things I fill my spare time with. But social media forces me into comparing my life with others, and this often takes away the satisfaction I have in what I do have. I want to stop using social media to compare my life with others.

c) It makes me filter my life.
Like most social media users, I only post the good stuff. I post when my life is interesting and exciting (or when I’m eating really delicious food). It means that sometimes I fall into the trap of not enjoying the moment because I’m thinking what a cool Instagram picture it would make or how many likes I would get on Facebook. I want to stop seeing my life through a social media filter.

And so that’s it, I’ve gone cold turkey today. SS has changed all my passwords because I don’t trust myself not to cheat. I feel better already.