MikeManTravels

Snap, Tweet, Retweet, Post, Repost, Follow, Hashtag, Like, Comment, Tag, Share or Catch Pokemon are all words our society is now familiar with on a regular basis. Whether you’re on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope, Snapchat, Youtube, WhatsApp, or just like to play Pokemon Go, the way we communicate with our friends and family are changing.

In my last blog, I spoke briefly about how technology today has helped our waiting process. More specifically, we now live in a time that we don’t have to wait weeks or months to find news about our family or the world and that is a good thing. But does this available technology have a cost? I mean it’s a wonderful thing not having to wait anymore and be able to send messages and have replies in seconds with all kinds of text, photos, videos, and emojis. But is it really all good? Are we losing out on valuable conversations and adventures because of it? Are we less aware of what we are passionate about because of our lack of concern of the world? Are we becoming a society that we are ok with having more screen to screen interactions rather than face to face? Are we not experiencing the moments and reaching our state of flow because we live consumed? Finally, are we living in social media and not in the world?

“The more social media we have, the more we think we’re connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other.”  -JR

As much as I love social media, I feel completely guilty of sometimes living in social media and being absorbed by it. That is, I am always thinking of my next post even before I arrive somewhere and am always thinking of how I’m going to get my message across for my followers. While this strategy and thought process isn’t completely bad it has allowed me to miss out on several opportunities to understand life at its best because I’m not really in the moment. I think staying in the moment means appreciating your surroundings and really experiencing that brief period of time for what its worth.

One of my good friends in life is an avid surfer. In fact, I don’t know anyone else that is as passionate about surfing as he is and when I can I love going out to see him surf. Danny goes surfing quite often (everyday if he could) but every opportunity he gets to surf is like a new day. As soon as I see him hit that water…everything is passion! I truly believe we can make life that way also as we center our lives around the very thing that brings us meaning, purpose, and joy.

“Follow your Passion, It will lead you to your purpose.” Oprah Winfrey

This week, I had a little bit of car trouble. If you know me personally you probably heard what happened and that I got stuck at our local Library waiting for AAA to tow my car. At first, I thought it was just the battery and that I had accidentally left a car light on while I was working. But soon enough, it ended up being the starter and we had to tow the vehicle to a local repair shop to get it repaired. A few hundred dollars later, a new part and within a couple hours, I had somewhat of a fixed car again. Needless to say, It wasn’t my best day. After the repair, I had a lot to consider. Should I keep fixing the car to the best that I can? Should I sell it online or to a local car dealership? Should I get another vehicle? What is the car even worth anymore? The truth of the matter is that while my car is thirteen years old and is nearing 200,000 miles I still love it and maybe because of a more purposeful reason.

While social media can be a distraction for living in the moment, social media can also be a platform of connection that is a wonderful tool for sharing ideas, photos, life experiences and ultimately helping others. As I discovered with the idea of waiting: technology and social media can be both positive and negative and really can lead to change. My refrigerator on wheels has delivered hundreds of cakes, has helped many people move and has been a great tool for traveling on adventures and using it as a focal point to maintain face-to-face conversations. Its brought me around the country seeing and exploring aspects of life that are truly remarkable and has allowed me to stir up conversations and moments. Staying in my Element has provided me with opportunities to be part of some cause of change and has allowed me to gain experiences and interactions that make living alive fully immeasurable.  This week was a pretty historical week for Americans and the world. While the Winter Olympics started off with a sign of hope for peace and unity, the world watched as SpaceX launched the most powerful rocket since the 1970’s and we now have a car in space. The role of social media has played a large part of this endeavor and I find it fascinating to see where our technology can take us. Today, I am excited to see more signs of exploration but we must remember to have boundaries between that technology and our daily lives if we truly want to live. Do we really need a sign at the beach saying they don’t have wifi? Are we really expecting beaches, national parks, and mountain ranges to provide Free Wifi? I don’t know about you but I don’t want to see it come to that. While I love my iPhone, Social Media and the ability to have information at my fingers I also want to reflect on greater encounters of life and sometimes turn off all the noise.

Questions to Consider:

• What does living in the moment look like in your life?
• Are you guilty of living in Social Media?
• As technology gets better…what are ways we can keep focused and never forget what living in the moment actually looks like?
• What are steps we can take to not absorb ourselves in social media/technology?