Kat's Rambling Mind

As I sit here listening to the spring rain softly falling on the roof on this Sunday evening, I’m thinking of something I heard during the sermon at church this morning. The pastor, Brian, mentioned being present. Although the sermon was ultimately about humility, he mentioned that these days people often text or email instead of sitting down and having a conversation. Technology has made some of us a little lazy and somewhat disconnected from what is going on around us.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. I love that I’ve connected with people through different platforms and that some of those people have become dear friends. While it’s often said that online friendships aren’t “real”, I’m here to tell you that’s simply not true. For example, I have friends that I speak with on a regular basis via telephone or video chat, and it’s great to be able to truly connect with people on a deeper level than a virtual thumbs up or various emojis.

Speaking of emojis, I like to use them to convey tone; they’re fun, but they’ve added to our conversational laziness. I’m old enough to remember the days of pen pals and writing actual letters and mailing them. Maybe you wrote a letter to a sweetheart, or just a friend, or a relative. They might have lived across the country or just across town, but the effort invested in a letter meant that you were truly present in the relationship. I fear the art of letter-writing may have fallen by the wayside, but the technology that has replaced it is definitely one of our greatest gifts. The key, I suppose, is to use it wisely. (Be good, not evil.)

Think of it–we have all the information we could ever want at our fingertips. We can reach out and connect with people from all around the world, and learn about their lives, faith, and culture. We can share experiences like never before, but often, we don’t. We claim we’re too busy, or we’d rather scroll through videos that only last a few seconds instead of making a true connection with others. I’m a bit on the introverted side myself, so I’m definitely guilty of withdrawing into the countless distractions that are the penny candy of the internet.

But recently, I find myself wanting to have more meaningful connections in my online relationships. Video chat is one of the greatest inventions ever, in my opinion. (Coincidentally, I always thought the picture phone from The Jetsons was the coolest thing ever, but I digress.) I want to sit down and have an actual face-to-face conversation with people, and I’m lucky that I have friends who share that interest in connecting and being present. People who are fully focused and engaged in a conversation are real treasures. It’s just invaluable to have the opportunity to do that in this modern era.

And so, I’m going to challenge myself to reach out more, to be more aware, more involved in my online connections. What a valuable resource we’re squandering by not taking advantage of the gift we’ve been given in the internet. You never know, you could make a difference in someone’s life. I certainly know several that have made a difference in mine. The opportunities are endless, really. Let’s make the most of it, shall we?