McCartney Green

On October 30th I "fasted" from television and from social media. Here are the things that came to me during this time. Firstly, we all spend waay too much time on social media. Of course, we all know that. I had to actually TAKE TIME TO THINK of other things I could do whenever I thought about turning on the television or getting on Facebook.

I almost always eat my meals in front of the television. So, during my fast I ate at the table, alone, with nothing but my thoughts. (It's not that I don't want to eat with my hubby, but he always watches television while he eats, so for my fast day, that was out.)That made me wonder what people use to do before television. They ate with their families and spoke with each other, or if they didn't have family, maybe they read, or listened to music. My mind actually came alive for a minute. It was like I snapped out of the hypnotism that the drone of the TV keeps us in. BTW, that's not just a musing, scientists have done research on the wavelengths made by the TV and its effects on us and it’s not good.

Here's another thing I discovered– when I was TV and media free I had a strange feeling, like, today, I can do anything! I had more energy. I felt more like doing something active. We always complain because we have no energy, so we settle down in front of the TV. I think it’s actually opposite. We habitually settle down in front of the TV and it saps our energy away from us. We just don’t realize it. Same thing for the computer.

But what would we do if we had no TV or internet? How would life change? Of course, the economy would crash and we would all fall into survival mode. But I mean after that. Day to day, hour to hour, what would we find ourselves doing? I would probably read and pray.... a lot! But I think I would also probably find friends and family and dwell together because we have the need to feel connected. Personally, I think if we have found that connection to God the Father and to His son Jesus Christ, we would not feel all alone. We would know that we are NOT alone and we would be much stronger. Any maybe, the world’s constant connection to TV and the internet is what keeps us from finding that connection to God. The darkness in the world, which is a real thing, loves that TV and internet make people feel that they don’t need to believe in God, or in anything really except themselves. This is exactly what evil wants.

Funny, I hardly get on Facebook at all anymore and I rarely get on Instagram or Twitter, but the day I knew I could not get on, made me feel like I wasn't connected to the world. Okay, let’s be realistic, we need to know what’s going on in the world, we like to know what weather is headed our way, and we can learn a lot from all the information out there. However, there needs to be temperance in all things. So, maybe we just need to try to turn things off at least at mealtimes. And maybe we need to develop our relationship with God through some prayer and meditation. I highly suggest everyone take a day or two and turn things off, and just see where your mind goes and what thoughts jump into your head. See if Divine inspiration comes through once all the noise is gone. I know that is my goal and I am looking forward to another fast very soon.

One more thing... I know several people who work their jobs and do things with their families and really have no time for TV or social media, and I think they’re okay. But I also know those same people whose children are constantly watching TV, on their phones etc.. Maybe as families we can get our kids to “fast” every once in a while too! Just a thought!