Yesterday as we drove along a highway at 65+ miles per hour
a person began riding our bummer. So
close that indeed we were afraid that they might hit us and all of a sudden we
realized why – they were taking a picture of our license plate. Yes we have a specialty plate – one I would
call clever and funny – but I wouldn’t call it safe to take a picture going
down the road. In fact, without warrant,
we have invited a culture of people to take pictures of our plates while
driving. This is not the first time it
has happened and probably won’t be the last.
This bothers me. Not
only because I truly feel that my space and privacy is being invaded because I
don’t know where this picture is going and who will see it but because people
feel it is perfectly fine to do this.
So this blog is a rant on our society…what cell phones have
done for us. We have become a group of
people that are essentially very lonely because we cannot be with
ourselves. And this is one
example…people cannot just enjoy the laughter of seeing our plate they must
share this experience.
Social media, cell phones and whatever else that keeps us
connected has left us unable to connect with ourselves and God. It is so bad
that our need to share our experiences instead of delight in them that we go to
great and risky lengths to share them.
Here we have people willing to get into accidents at 65+ miles per hour
for what? To share a laugh…it begs me to ask if I laugh alone in a car did I
really laugh at all? (if a tree falls in an empty forest does it make a
noise?)
Is this bizarre behavior?
I think it should – I believe that this is why we are becoming a less
religious nation – because religion asks us tough questions – religion asks us
to spend time alone…because being Spiritual doesn’t have any set parameters and
often only requires us to go to a yoga class and spend one hour in silence with
a bunch of other people who don’t ask us to do anything more than drink coffee
afterwards.
I challenge you to think about this. To ask yourself if you can be alone with
yourself or if that bothers you and work on being able to be alone – work on
your sprit but finding ways to find community not within the social media or
the instant gratification but instead in people who will pray for you, be there
for you and encourage you to be the best you can be – a church. There is nothing like a truly loving church
community.
