Grasping at Cyberspace
Just two days ago I empathized and encouraged the subscribers to my ezine to be more active posting on the Catholic Women’s Guide to Healthy Relationships Facebook fanpage. I wrote about my own awkwardness and hesitation with social media, writing , “Putting my thoughts out there in cyberspace for all to see, not knowing if what I had to say would have value to anyone else, and pressing enter not exactly sure where it will end can be a deterrent to jumping in the social media ring.”
Perusing my Facebook feed, proud of myself for becoming more consistent about checking in, some Facebook candy caught my eye. A quote about a child-rearing philosophy I embrace, and one my husband and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on. In a blink of an eye, I type how I wish my hubby believed in the XYZ philosophy and… boom… pushed “post”. My words were forever in cyberspace.
After re-reading my post, a sense of dread started to burn in my heart. Now that comment wasn’t very charitable. It certainly doesn’t meet the, “Is it necessary, beautiful, or true,” criteria for whether something should leave your lips, or in this case your fingertips. As I’ve gotten a little more fast and loose on social media, it dawned on me that my hesitation to become a social media diva was valid. My tongue gets me in trouble when I speak, why wouldn’t I think that what animates my tongue might get me in trouble in cyberspace?
As I watched the words on the screen, I envisioned my futile effort grasping into cyberspace trying to reclaim and erase the words. Now more than ever it is important to work on having a peaceful heart underneath our voice and our prose. Like it or not, whatever is underneath will come out to the surface for all to see.
The good news is my husband is not on Facebook and probably won’t be for a while. God’s giving me some time to clean up my act!
The Catholic Woman’s Guide to Healthy Relationships Tip: Work through negative feelings quickly to avoid them being displayed in ugly ways.
