I will continue to post on Living Into Focus, but I wanted to write this while it was still fresh in my memory.
I came away from the book convicted that I needed to make some changes. The two I’ve settled on so far involve both addition and subtraction. As for subtraction, next week I plan to spend at least one day off the internet. I hadn’t really thought about how engrained the internet is in my habits, but planning a day away put it out in the open. Here’s one example: I have two ‘go to’ biblical commentaries that I use virtually every week – Matthew Henry’s and John Calvin’s. I own hard copies of each, but very rarely use them these days. It’s much ‘easier’ to pull them up online. And I want to say, ‘I can’t study for my sermons without the internet.’ I can. I just don’t want to. The internet opens up amazing possibilities for research, so I’m not bashing it by any means. I am simply reminding myself that every addition means that time for something else is taken away.
That leads to the computer in general. I want to go a day without touching a computer, but that’s even harder. I work on a computer most of the day for my job. I do my biblical studies on a computer. These days I’m lost without Bible Works. I love Bible Works, but I hadn’t realized how dependent I was on it until I thought about trying to go through a few days without it. I actually busted out my Biblia Hebraica tonight just to remind myself what it actually feels like to read a ‘paper’ Hebrew Bible. I’m so used to reading it on Bible Works. Anyway, that hasn’t actually happened yet. That’s next week. On to the main point of the post.
My first resolution was to spend more time outside – really outside. My wife was game for this one, so Sunday evening we started what I hope will become a tradition. We went on a hike through a ‘nature’ trail. (I put ‘nature’ in parenthesis because I’m not really sure I like that word). Some of Boers points about the ‘gift’ nature of creation struck home big time.
At one point on our walk, we began to hear an owl hooting. (I haven’t seen an owl since I was a small child). My daughters starting hooting at the owl and the owl hooted back. It was fun. Then another owl started hooting and we were in the middle of an owl conversation. It was purely a gift; unexpected; unasked for; but wonderful.
Next, we saw an Elephant Tree, which looks like this:
It’s more impressive in person. I thought it looked more like a rhino.
Finally, on the way out, we found ourselves in the middle of a massive display by a big cluster of fireflies. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a firefly. It had been years. It was my children’s first opportunity to catch fireflies. And it will always be a wonderful memory. It was a gift: totally unexpected.
So there are my first two resolutions. One involves engaging in a focal practice. The other involves taking some time away from the internet. I’ll report on number 2 after I actually do it. As I was writing this post I started reading the comments on chapter 8. It looks like I made add the practice of handwriting letters to the list.
We may create a computer-fasting day as well. Sunday seems the easiest to legitimately do this on, (so long as we establish that smart-phone internet access is included in this!) We have not officially set it up yet, but your resolution is encouraging for this.
Earlier in the book, I went out and bought an alarm clock to put next to my bed. Neither my wife nor I had a clock in the bedroom. Our iPhones can give us the time, as well as provide alarms. The problem is, they also invite alot of disruptive smart phone use into the bedroom. Some of the most destructive things have defenses that start with a sentence that goes “But I just wanted/needed to……” or “I only do it/need it because….” Now our smart phones charge in the living room. They do not stay in the bedroom, where it is easy to wake up, grab the phone and immediately check for text messages, emails, etc.
We even took this a step further and said “no computer before breakfast.” (I’m still working on this, but the point isn’t to set goals that are merely easy to achieve…)
Finally, we also resolved to go outside more. We take our children to local playgrounds frequently, but there is a nature preserve 5-10 minutes away that we rarely go to. We have resolved to go there 1 to 3 times per week. This has been a wonderful experience thus far. My son almost stepped on a tarantula the other day. (That’s ok, they won’t really bother you.) He also came within a foot of a copperhead snake, (not ok, very poisonous. There is a good story to go with that one.)
One thing I’m now noticing out on the trails is how many people are not paying any attention to their surroundings. They are either talking loudly with each other, “exercising” with mp3 players, somehow fiddling with their smart phones, or just talking on the phone. I would estimate that 90 percent of the people on the trail fall into one of these categories. Interesting how there is something inside them that calls them to the setting of the nature preserve, and yet some other desire that mitigates that experience.
The alarm clock idea was great! I read Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung a while back and encouraged no-cell phone zones (which included the bedroom and the dinner table).
I decided years ago that I was not going to get a smart phone unless I absolutely had to. I’ve made it this far without owning one. I’m pretty much the only person I know who doesn’t have one. Believe it or not I’m surviving! I have people tell me that they wish they could go without theirs, that they admire my not owning one, but that they could never do it. If you’ve never had one it’s really not that big a deal.
Anyway, I admire your willingness to set limits. I think your alarm clock idea was great, and I am enjoying reading your thoughts.
I went without a smart phone until my boss BOUGHT one for me, insisting that he be able to connect more with me. I’ve found it a very interesting experience, and it had given me the chance to silence people who used to say “you just don’t know because you don’t have one” or some other protest when I speak cautiously about smart phones.
I actually went without a cell phone entirely for a couple years. That was when I discovered that they had removed almost ALL pay phones, and many businesses now don’t even have a land line…