Categories
Faith Life Musings

The Problem of Pride in the Age of Twitter

My friend Jon forwarded along an article from the January/February ’09 issue of Relevant Magazine that I found to be an interesting read.  You can read the full article by clicking the picture below.

Relevant Magazine | The Problem of Pride in the Age of Twitter

A couple of quotes that I found particularly convicting:

We desperately seek to contribute – to be significant.  Blogs give us this chance, and so does YouTube, and Twitter, and Facebook, and the rest.  Suddenly we have things to say and — more importantly — people who are listening.

But these ways of “reaching out” or “giving back” to culture are still predominantly about me.  About how I find meaning by bouncing ideas off of the wider web world.  About feeling important, validated, useful, interesting.

I’ve never really thought about it this way, but the “Social Networking Revolution” is, fundamentally, something about “me.”  In broadcasting what is going on in my life (and seeing what is going on in the lives of others), Twitter/blogging/whatever speaks to my pride, my desire to “feel important” or be respected.

Even when it comes to finding new music, a voice in the back of my head considers the satisfaction and the affirmation I receive I find something my friends haven’t heard of before.  I used to check the stats on my webpage often to see how many people visited daily, and from where.  Seeing lots of hits made me feel important, as though people somewhere looked to me for insight or information.  It was a good feeling.  

Looking to the outside world to affirm that can be very, very dangerous.  In attempting to feel connected with others, we increasingly abstract ourselves from real relationships, selfishly focusing on ourselves above all else.  We end up creating our own truths and realities.

It appears that ultimately we’re retreating further inward, to the “i” world of our personal computing universe.  Under the guise of increasing our levels of connectivity, these technologies are ultimately just tools to help us isolate, insulate and unshackel from the outmoded constraints of having to answer to anyone other that ourselves.

“Social web” applications such as Facebook or Twitter by nature open up a multitude of possibilities and capabilities for digital interaction, and I’ve incorporated a number of them into my daily routine.  It is important to balance these digital interactions out with “real” relationships, however.  There is no substitute for grabbing breakfast or coffee with a friend, looking them in the eyes, and really communicating without feeling the need to show off.

Accountability is refreshing; it’s funny how we can find ourselves silently sitting in front of a screen for hours on end, wondering why we still feel empty. 

The end of the article frames the issue well from a Christian perspective:

In times like these – when it’s easier and more alluring than ever to be or feel important –  Christians must remember that we’re not called to be viral superstars, we’re called to be living sacrifices.  We’re not instructed to make ourselves look as good as possible in front of the largest audience we can; no we are instructed to deny ourselves and humbly follow Christ.

It’s our best friends that remind us of that, anyway.

 

Edit:  my friend Harrison has some good commentary on this article over on his website, as well.  I recommend you go over and read what he has to say.

Categories
Art Life Music

“Air and Simple Gifts,” performed at the Inauguration of Barack Obama

Yesterday a couple of friends and I went out to lunch and watched the Inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama.  I had never actually watched an inauguration before, so it was a pretty cool sight to see; so many people, so much history, so much tradition.  I also thought Rick Warren did a great job on the opening prayer.  Obama evokes hope in people, but I really like how Warren visibly evoked something greater.

Just prior to the Oath of Office, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Anthony McGill, and Gabriela Montero performed an excellent rendition of John William’s new composition, “Air and Simple Gifts,” which I wanted to share, because I think it’s so beautiful.  🙂  Enjoy.

[audio:https://kenotic.net/wordpress/audio/AirAndSimpleGifts.mp3]

It’s a new day, with a new president.  Exciting times.

[ Edit: I was still waking up when I wrote this:  yes, it was Rick Warren, not Tim Keller, who gave the opening prayer.  😛  Thanks, Mark. ]

Categories
Life Music

Cold, Cold Saturday Morning

I woke up this morning and the thermometer showed 0°F outside. According to the news, that’s about 10°F colder than Philidelphia.  Yikes.  Ice was forming on the inside of our sliding glass door to the porch; this i sthe coldest it’s been all year, by far.

Mika and I decided to combat the desire to curl up and never leave the bed by cooking banan nut waffles and bacon, which did the trick.  🙂  I love Saturday mornings.

Last night we had dinner with our good friends Natalie, John, and Rachel.  Natalie and Jon got married this past summer, and this was really the first time that we have had a chance to get together since then.  Rachel’s birthday is today, so we had some celebrating last night over paella, wine, and a chocolate rasberry cake, topped off with a game of Apples to Apples.  Evenings like that are what I love about living in Charlottesville, surrounded by friends.

Tonight, Mika and I are going skiing at Massanutten.  Perhaps with the cold, there will be some good snow up there on the slopes – the snow report says that our favorite slope, ParaDice is openand groomed, which is a good sign.

If you’re in Charlottesville and are not going skiing this evening, I’d recommend that you head over to Para Coffee over on Elliwood on the Corner and catch the concert that’s going on there tonight from 8:30-10:30pm. It should be a fun night: Hemingstown Radio (David Tewksbury & Jennifer Seidel) with guests The Brothers Juniper (Ben Eppard & Daniel Pope) are playing some progresssive alt-folk, all for a $3 cover.  And the coffee’s good, too.  

Para is a great little coffee house with a lot of character run by my friend Eric Kelley and his wife, Lora.  Besides running the coffee shop, Eric is also a very talented photographer who shot our wedding in September.  Grab a cup and take a seat next time you’re in the area

Mika’s calling me to help her clean the house and do laundry.  Stay warm. 🙂

Categories
Life Musings

Still Alive.

It’s been a while, yes, but I’m around. Since the last post, I’ve gotten married and Christmas 2008 has come and gone. I have some plans for this blog, fear not. Stay tuned.

Categories
Faith Life

I Will Not Take My Love Away.

I will not take my love away
When praises cease and seasons change
While the whole world turns the other way
I will not take my love away
I will not leave you all alone
When striving leads you far from home
And there’s no yield for what you’ve sown
I will not leave you all alone
I will give you what you need
In plenty or in poverty
Forever, always, look to me
And I will give you what you need

I will not take my love away.