BEING ALONE

In our culture today, it's a rare moment when you find yourself to be fully alone. There's always something going on and something that needs to be done. With all of the technology and different ways to communicate with people, it is difficult to not be "connected" to everyone at all times. Even when we do get a spare moment to ourselves, we tend to fill it with some type of distraction: music, texting, Facebook, calling a friend, etc. Let's face it, we don't like to be alone and we don't like to be still. We don't like to feel disconnected with society. Why do we run away from these quiet moments? Why can't we handle feeling alone? Why can't we just be still?

When I get in my car every day after work, I almost always start my call list. I call my mom, my husband, or my best friend until one of them answers. If I can't get ahold of anyone, I turn on music and try to find something to distract me until I get home. Until recently, I had never noticed my desperation in finding something to fill these quiet moments. I just hate feeling alone and having nothing to do. I want a friend, music, or technology to keep me company, so I don't have to sit in that dreaded silence. But what am I so afraid of? Why can't I just sit there and feel the stillness all around me? I feel like I must be doing something at all times. I must be linked to the outside world.

Technology has completely spoiled us. It has made us dependent upon constant communication and constant distraction. We have the world at our fingertips and it's all just one click away. We aren't comfortable distancing ourselves from what's going on in everyone's lives. We feel strange when it's quiet and there isn't anything to keep us busy. We get our satisfaction and fulfillment from our technology and from always having something to occupy our time, whether that thing is significant or not. Although this might seem like a crazy statement that most of us would disagree with, we must ask ourselves where the majority of our times is spent? Is it spent being still, recharging so that we have the energy for our families and friends, talking to God and letting Him speak to us in the silence? Or is it spent on our Facebook, our phones, music, tv, or our tedious and sometimes pointless To Do Lists that we get so wrapped up in?

Taking the time be alone has become something that people just don't do. And I think it's time for that to change. I suggest that we all take the time to be more intentional about disconnecting ourselves from the world. Put your phones down, shut your computers, and turn off the music. Don't be afraid of the silence that will permeate the room. Take the time to focus on what's really important, take the time to pray, take the time to rid your mind of all the junk that's been filling it. It's actually quite refreshing to detach yourself from those vises that we hold so tightly to.