Embracing Silence: A Journey to Inner Peace
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me: -Psalm 23:4
In today’s world, we are surrounded by a deluge of digital distraction. We have information right at our fingertips. All we have to do is pick up our phones and ask Google. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), information can be on your screen as quickly as you can ask or type.
People are glued to social media. If it’s on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, or X, it must be true, right? Instead of asking questions or doing one’s own research for factual answers, so many are quick to say, “Well, I saw this post on Facebook, and it said it is true!”
The media is relentless in our society today. We, as consumers, eat up all of it, just as they want us to. Just take the time and walk around any shopping mall, restaurant, grocery store, sporting event, concert, etc., and everyone is on their phone: posting their dinner that they can barely afford or sharing their latest recipe, which they came up with from, you guessed it, Instagram! It’s all just a constant clamor that most cannot figure out how to block out or quiet.
This constant digital consumption is why I realized I needed a change. We as a society need to get back to following The Good Shepherd: taking time out of our busy lives to truly quiet the clamor and return to what is important. One of the best things I have done over the last year, besides getting sober, was deleting all my social media platforms.
Yes, it is a bit ironic that here I am writing a blog post, but it’s just a way for me to get the words that float around in my head out. Perhaps one person out there will stumble upon the words I type, and it will help them. With that being said, life has been so much better without alcohol and social media platforms, and with God in it.
My friends that are actually part of my “circle” are still there. They still check in on me, and I check in on them. I still get together with those that live close to me. Then there are the roughly 420 “friends” that I had on Facebook, Instagram, etc. that I haven’t heard from since the day I deleted all of my social media accounts. Many of them have my phone number but have never reached out to see what’s going on with me. Many of them probably just think I deleted and/or blocked them.
In reality, I just needed a break from all the distraction. I needed to get right with God first and foremost. I needed Him to be the only noise I heard.
-Chad
Anchored by His Word, Guided by His Truth
