How Facebook Divides Us And How We Can Respond

On the surface this topic this may not seem either encouraging or showing gratefulness. However, stay with me and I hope to put a positive point on a very touchy subject - yes I am taking about Facebook.

In the beginning, Facebook was a means for college kids to stay connected. Then it expanded to the rest of the universe. At first everyone was thrilled. They could communicate to a larger group of friends without the downsides of e-mail (spam, long drawn out messages). You could also connect with friends that you always wondered "what ever happened to so and so?"  It kept families in touch to be able to see those great pictures of the kids and grandkids. It was all so nice.

Then somewhere along the way some forwards of posts started showing up in a person's feed. They were cute videos of animals, thoughtful sayings to encourage your day. Then the tenor of the forwards began changing. Political statements, forwards of news articles promoting a specific viewpoint began interrupting the feeds.  It came to a frenzy during the election cycle and many people gave up on Facebook.

Suddenly, friends were becoming enemies when they posted something you didn't agree with. A recent post came across as hurtful. I didn't know where it came from. Then I realized that their Facebook feed was not my feed. Whatever they were seeing had prompted a reaction that went out to all of their friends. I'm sure the post was not intended to hurt, just to inform. Their feed was probably cluttered with so many viewpoints that they were tired of just sitting back and saying nothing. So they posted a response to a personal experience.  As expected, some people were supportive, some were dismayed.

There are reasons the wisdom of the past said "never bring up religion or politics" in a discussion. It always brings strong reactions. No two people believe the exact same thing. So is Facebook the forum for sharing statements that divide? I have yet to see anyone be persuaded by another person's post, no matter how thoughtful or clever.  Every discussion I have read eventually leads to bashing and name calling.

So what can we do to bring Facebook back to something we enjoy? I don't know if we can reign it in or we need to start over with a new format. Remember MySpace? It was fun until the burden of having to be so creative brought it down. Facebook took over because it was simple. Can we regain simplicity and remember what Facebook was intended for? Or have we gone too far and need to construct a new platform. Many younger people are ditching Facebook.  I don't know what will happen but in the meantime, I will try to ignore the strong statements that are divisive and not contribute to that part of Facebook.

Remember the telephone call? It was once something we looked forward to receiving. Now we dread it when it rings because it is usually a solicitation for one thing or another.  Or perhaps when we used to look forward to getting mail. It meant a letter from someone we cared about. Now it is offers for better credit card rates or bills. Let's not let Facebook turn into something we dread. Let's make Facebook great again.

There Are Many Way To Be Grateful

Gratitude is not a noun, regardless of what the dictionary says - it is active.  Being grateful isn't a thing that is done once, it is something we continue to do and chose to do each day. We aren't grateful because of things around us but in spite of those things that try to bring us down. None of us get through life without some difficult things happening to us. But in those difficulties, we can either see that we can be grateful for or we can be brought down by our circumstances.

One of the most telling examples of this is through the life of the Apostle Paul. He was one of the most influencial people in the growth of the early Christian movement. His writings and letters are read and taught today, over 2,000 years after they were written. But Paul spend a good portion of his life after his conversion to Christianity in prison. He did not have the ability to go out to the people to speak to them once he was under house arrest. However, he continued to write letters and send them out to encourage the growing church. Yes, he was encouraging them, even while in prison. So, he didn't sit in his dwelling and feel sorry for his situation, he continued to use his time to be grateful that he could write a letter to encourage a young man named Timothy. He challenged the young church to remain strong and not give up.

I have known many people who have dealt with difficult and painful times in their lives. It is not always easy to look at the good when you are in pain and are suffering. I knew a woman who, in the midst of her cancer treatment, continued to encourage those around her. When she went to her treatments, she would share encouragement and love with everyone around her. She was an amazing woman and I was so impressed by her attitude during her treatment. She was not healed from the cancer and passed away. But her legacy, I believe, lives on in the lives she touched around her.

Today I am grateful my back is not hurting. Last week I could barely move after lifting something the wrong way. So I appreciate the freedom of movement without pain. If we have no pain, we have no measure of how wonderful wellness can be. Living in the northwest, we appreciate every sunny day we see because they are so rare in the wintertime. Everyone is out enjoying the day when the sun shines. In California, where I came from, we took the sun for granted because it was expected to shine every day. It is all how we look at things.

So, appreciate what you have today. Encouarge those around you, even if you don't feel like you are in a good place. It will give them a boost and most likely will give you one at the same time.