April 17, 2012

thoughts on technology

It's two lives we're living, in this age of technology.
We want to be real but we can't tell all
For fear of losing a life we could have.
Instead of living it, we can only imagine
How a world of simplicity would make us happy.
It's not far from our reach, and yet...                                                    
Yet we sit at our desks and gape
At what we so desperately want on a screen.                                                
But it's on a screen and that is far from our reach.                                                                                   
We want to go places, but the time is wasted                                        
As the hours tick by in the right-hand corner.                                      
We want memories of family and friends,
But today I wrote a blog post that is sure to draw
More followers, more comments, and more popularity.
We want to live the life God wants, 
But we read our Bibles after we've check our emails
And I just want to tweet before I pray today.
I need to go, but I want to watch this video.
Just one more minute, I'm almost done.
I'm almost done....

Really, it seems so easy - shut down is only a click away, but our eyes our glued with jealousy and lust to what we see on our screens.  We read about the lives of other people, while life is passing right in front of us.  And we're missing it.  Do you want to remember your life or are you only interested in the life of that blogger or this blogger?

I want to life this life; this life I have been so richly blessed to have.  I love hearing about yours, but that's just it.  It's yours.  You live it, and I'll live mine.  We'll share what we learn and how we grow along the way, but if life is what you make it, I don't want to be remembered by a piece of internet.  

I want to be a sister and daughter in this crazy house right now.  I want to love people physically and spiritually until it hurts.  I want to be a true friend to the ones I'm with.

Maybe I can have that life of simple times, memorable adventures, and true contentment.  It will not come from this computer screen.  It will come from life.  Right here.  Right now.     

16 comments:

  1. this is a beautiful post. it brought up some things we all should consider and i know that i for one have some things to think about.

    emilie

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  2. ok. you officially rock. this post was so true and so amazing. amenamenamen.

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  3. Love love LOVE this post :)

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  4. i read this post and i was kinda freaked at first. because, i do this stuff all the time. "i will be off in a minute" um, yeah right.
    thanks so much for posting this! it really got to me. and i am getting off tis computer now to live my life. you are amazing olivia, and that was totally from God to my heart :)

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  5. wow. this was awesome. and it was full of points worth considering.

    xo,
    jess

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  6. wow,this was worth the read.Those are some GREAT points that you highlighted!!

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  7. *exhales with relief* THANK YOU for putting words to this. :) It honestly felt good to read.

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  8. Wow, Olivia. I feel the same way. The poem was beautiful and your thoughts are so very true! It's most important to live our own lives, not envying after what other people have in theirs. so beautiful. <3

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  9. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Blogging is one method I use to record memories, but I waste so much time on the computer when I could be out making new ones. great post! :)

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  10. So beautiful and SO true! and I second Mary Ann's comment! So true!

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  11. Wow. I needed this big time. That just described me.
    Thanks Olivia!!

    Katie

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  12. So, I'm obsessed with all these photos. And thank you for writing this post! It's so true and gives me something to think about :)

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  13. do you know how much i love you???
    great thoughts. great perspective. keep it. hang on to it. find the balance. we can't ignore the technology, for it is a part of our culture that is here to stay. but neither does it need to rule us. you are so right about that. too much of life is not being lived because we sit in the glow of our computer screens.
    good for you for recognizing this and living life to its fullest! and getting a handle on it now will help when you are out on your own and having to enforce your own boundaries.
    you'll never regret it.

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  14. I cannot tell you how wonderful this is, Olivia. it's so so easy to constantly be connected--even as I'm sitting with my family, I find myself checking twitter, email, facebook. it's important to unplug completely for at least a few hours a day! thanks for writing, girl! :)

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  15. This is just what I needed! Thank you so much, Olivia. Honestly, I have been more interested in the internet then I have been with my own family at times. It's really shameful, but I'm certainly going to be working on it. I finally came up with the line I want to live by, "My blog is not going to get in the way of my life; my life is going to get in the way of my blog."
    Love you. :)

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  16. Amen Olivia! This is so true. I tend to do that a lot. I'll Just get on the computer, or watch something, before I even read my word. Or, I am glued to the t.v. or computer when I should be focusing on God.
    Great post!

    <3 <3

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