Not so fast. Let me define my terms. Roughly six weeks ago I determined to take a rest. That meant no blog pieces. No podcast. No tweets. No (almost) comments. While those decisions led to less screen time, I did not commit to stop reading on social media. To put it another way, I stopped talking, but kept on listening. Here are four things I learned along the way.
It’s okay to not have a take. I honestly feared I would miss putting in my two cents. What I learned is that two pennies saved is two pennies earned. By not posting I was set free of the angst that comes from the fear that nobody is listening. A large part of my motive for the fast was my growing conviction that no one was listening anyway. I don’t know if androids dream of electric sheep. I do know twitter bots don’t miss you when you leave. The world didn’t collapse without what I perceive to be my wisdom. The church didn’t apostatize because I was asleep at the switch.
The drama is passing. It is both true and a serious problem that the world and the church are lurching to the left. It is less true and less of a serious problem that this press conference looked like a Nietzschean nightmare or that that paramour of Big Eva has entered the restoration portal. On social media we’re like Poland shuddering over the speed of the tanks today and the strafing of the Messerschmitts tomorrow but can’t be bothered with the Blitzkrieg.
I’m not as good as I thought I was. Writing comes easy for me. I’m fast and prolific. Speaking comes easy for me. Put a microphone in front of me and I’ll welcome it and talk until the cows are not only home but snug in their beds. In both instances I tend to enjoy what I’ve written or what I’ve said. Other people, either not so much or not so many. While I have a respectable number of tweeps and my fair share of podcast subscribers, I was not inundated with inquiries as to when I would return. An uptick in humility is always a good, albeit painful thing. So I’ve got that going for me.
Rest is good. I thought of my capacity for output as a feature, not a bug. Even if I had been right, it comes at a cost of rest. Deadlines are not conducive to rest, and a lack of rest is not conducive to a spirit of peace. I’m grateful to have taken the time off. I’ve adjusted my goals to be less burdensome on me, and I trust, on my potential readers/listeners. Moving forward we will put out one new blog piece four times a week and one Jesus Changes Everything podcast a week. The length of each podcast will grow, but total output will decrease. Each day, however, there will be something new at rcsprouljr.com.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on my lessons learned, your own experience of social media fasts. And anything else you’d like to tell me about.
