Uninformed.

 or, Choosing to Have a Smaller World.

It's funny how today's global culture works.  Because we can be aware of so many current events, the pressure of "I should have an opinion on them" increases with each year.  Well, to clarify: having an informed opinion is incredibly valued, and being ignorant (i.e. uninformed) is greatly looked down upon.

Have you encountered that?  Listen to how people react to an uninformed person... it's not pleasant.

But, what's the problem with being informed on our world?  Information-overload.  

We aren't very good at knowing where our niche is, and where we can say "I'm allowed to be ignorant about that."  Boundaries matter in this area too.

Ah, but can I even say that today? 

Yet, it's just basic human limitations I'm speaking of here.  I'm not talking about living a self-indulged, ignorant of all others, uneducated, please-only-self life (which can be lived by anyone at any status, p.s.).  What I am speaking of is the willing choice to limit the noise in our lives.

Limiting noise.

Is that all this information is: noise?  Many times, yes. 

I do have great respect for the tech world (I am blogging, after all lol), and all the hard work it takes to engage/create, but at what cost to our personal lives? 

We have so many lonely people.  So many people with unrealistic expectations of success and relationships and family and God.  We've checked out for so long, we're now ignorant on how to... just....  live.

We blame media, or family break-down, or whatever, but how much of this "checked out-ness" could be solved if we made more time to slow down, engage, listen, and unplug?  Spend our energy engaging with the real-time problems in our own world (which, for some, really might include global issues!), instead of distancing ourselves through a screen, and solving the problems of people who are not in our sphere.  We are constantly giving opinions on people so far removed from ourselves, that we end up creating this false sense of authority within our own circles. 

After all,

"If I can have an entire well-informed conversation about famous person X, or politician Y, or tragic event Z, then clearly I am qualified to judge/critique my spouse, kid, parents, neighbor, driver who cut me off, grocer, etc."

We do it without even realizing it.

Eh, perhaps this is a long shot, but I, at least, observe this phenomenon often in myself and in those around me.  We get puffed up by passing our opinions (i.e. judgments) on people who could never clarify or challenge us, and then when we are in a place to listen to the other person's side - a real relationship in front of us! - we're already assuming we're in the right, and listening and learning becomes almost impossible.

SO!

My personal desire is to make an active choice to stream the amount of information I have even coming in to my world.  I really do have limited energy and time - we all do! - and it's just too hard for me (in this season, at least) to try to stay up-to-date about politics, weather, social media, events, etc. AND be present for all the relationships around me. 

"Wherever you are, be all there." ~Jim Elliot

Multitasking makes being fully present rather difficult, right?  Now, this whole thought should lead more to having a healthy rhythm versus no rhythm at all.  Personally, however, I have found over the last 5 years of limiting my TV/movies, commercial-watching, internet browsing, and social media, that I have been much more free to engage with my family, friends, neighbors, and strangers that do enter my real world.  I am free to see them as real people.  I am more present.

And, truly, that has been worth the frequent and awkward moments of my ignorance being revealed.  "Oh, you didn't hear about _____________??!?!?!?!?!" is said so often to me.... 


I now have a deeper respect for listening to real-people-in-my-life stories, instead of just labeling them and sharing my side as quickly as I can (which, I still do often, but I am learning it's not a very healthy way to live out relationships).  I now am more willing to engage and be vulnerable with person A in front of me, instead of just being in front of a screen and half-way paying attention to it all.

I am human.  I am wired to be physically present with the people I am in relationship with in this season of my life.  It is not the ideal way to spend the majority of my time engaging people through a screen of some kind - it's not God's best for me.

I know there is a time and a place for critiques and opinions of our global culture, but SO MUCH of what we spend our conversations on, really has no impact on our personal lives at all.  And, what does this end up costing us in real-time?  Depth.  Connection.  Reality.  Peaceful and calm moments.  Rest.

What if we chose to make our world smaller?
What if we chose to be uninformed about many things, so we could be well-informed about a few?


Personally, it is a more difficult, often misunderstood, but much richer journey.  Engage, yes, but in a sphere/season/culture where you really are living life - and not solely from a screen. 

I invite you along.