Reality Is What I Need
Well folks, this post is to tell you I am taking a break from blogging, Twitter, and Facebook for a while. I am not sure how long...maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe indefinitely - probably not indefinitely, but, then again, who knows. Blogging has allowed me to share the inspiring things that motivate me and has provided a platform for my writing, but I often ask myself, "Why do I blog? Do I do it for myself? For others? Is it important? It is making the world better?"
These same questions arise when I think about my presence on Twitter and Facebook. Often meaningful and sometimes meaningless (or maybe it's sometimes meaningful and often meaningless) 140-characters or less tweets about my meals, my daily activities, my adventures, my design projects, my favorite quotes or Bible verses, great news articles or blog posts, songs, ideas, events, photos - Do these life updates really matter to people, or do I somehow feel the dire need to document the "important," carefully-selected parts of my life hoping they do matter?
Facebook carries an additional deeper level of disconnectedness in myself and between me and the outside world. Seeing people's romanticized versions of their lives makes my own feel somewhat...lacking. A confident, capable, talented, beautiful woman, I can't help but feel discontent when I see relationship status updates for newly engaged or married couples or photos from people's trips to other countries. I become dissatisfied with my own current situation (single with no means to travel) rather than excited, supportive, and happy for my friends and satisfied with where I am in my journey. I also 1) feel I know some individuals more intimately than I actually do by having read their statuses and browsed their pictures and 2) feel their lives are perfect rather than human, something I've termed as the Disney-Movie Effect. You know? Seemingly happily ever after.
Lauren Hill, during a taping of an MTV Unplugged special, said, "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need...I've just retired from the fantasy part." I want to do less blogging, less tweeting, less posting and more living. I want everything I do, say, write, or think, every decision I make, and every relationship I have to be intentional, i.e. with a purpose. I want to live in the here and the now. I want to live in reality.
I'll be on Pinterest occasionally, so feel free to get inspired with me there. For those close to me, a phone call or letter would be nice. Let's try being real friends.
Patience and dedication, Rachel
Photo by Jeff Luker
