I know people who give up the Internet for Lent.
People disappear from social media, take a “Facebook fast,” or limit their online presence. They see social media, websites, and email as distractions from their deeper lives. Things are different for me.
Life online is a network of connections and relationships that would not exist without Internet access. Social media give us opportunities to have meaningful conversations with people we have not met in person.
I meet people online who decide to work with me as a spiritual life mentor or a leadership coach. I connect with people who want to read what I write, and share what they write with me. People who find my website or see me on Twitter bring me in to speak at workshops or facilitate retreats.
Our life online is an integral part of our spiritual life. Our relationships online can be as spiritual, and as deep, as those we develop in person. Our electronic devices are no more distracting than those to which we are more accustomed. Part of healthy spiritual life is finding healthy ways to be spiritual online. We can be as contemplative on Pinterest as we are in person.
Listening is essential, central to spiritual life. Listening is also key to healthy life online. We become able to listen to ourselves, to the people we meet, to the deep sacred truth all around us. Sometimes we listen to silence; sometimes we can hear the sounds of a distant keyboard.
It is not the Internet or social media that distract us from spiritual life. Spiritual life is our everyday life, filled with ideas, concerns, joys, and other people.
How alive is your online spiritual life? Could I help?
When is your online spiritual life strongest?
[Image by Stròlic Furiàn]
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