I wrote this post last summer, but have been holding onto it. I finally am ready to hit publish.
A couple years back I watched a travel channel/food network show one time with Canadian chefs who want to do fine dining and create an elaborate experience, but created a foie gras sandwich because that’s what the young market demanded. Essentially, the original was insufficient. It does exist and it’s in Montreal. It’s served at Joe Beef and is called the Foie Gras Double Down Sandwich, in case you were wondering.
In a similar way, technology is addicting. We are glued to social media, news, TV, Netflix, and so much more. I had to pull myself away from an article that didn’t matter to my life to watch my darling daughter play with a toy and simply relish that moment. My attention was attached to the wrong thing.
When was the last time you had the willpower to put down your computer, set your tablet aside, leave your phone, disconnect your watch, and any other items of technology and simply be? Were you too afraid because you were “disconnected” and all you had were your thoughts? When will enough technology be enough for us? If Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat and others aren’t enough, what is the right number? If we need more devices (phones, tablets, watches, bluetooth speakers…), then when will it be enough?
Now is probably a good time to share that I love technology; I am no technophobe. I have many devices at home and allow my kids to watch TV and play games. But I also see the inherent dangers and the relational damage caused by it.
There’s a reason the Catholic Church and other religions have called gluttony a sin. It’s not merely to protect our bodies (flesh), but to protect our lives (relationships and souls). We can binge on food, TV, work, and more — it’s not exclusively food that weakens our willpower. As we use food and other things as a distraction, what becomes of our souls?
Screens are a contraceptive to boredom. We’re afraid of our own thoughts, of the silence that may ensue. And yet…and yet that’s exactly what we need…to get off the rollercoaster because we cannot keep riding forever.
Can we get off, to rest, to reflect, and to be grateful for the lives we’ve been given? How long can we keep binging?
Jeff Beaumont 