A time of fasting

The past month sped by like a cheetah. (lame simile, I know) But that's the best I can come up with right now. Though right now, coming up with similes should be the last thing I'm doing, and yet here I am, writing about it. I should be finishing my illustrations for my final thesis. Instead, here I am...taking a break... One cannot simply work continuously on an illustration, unless you have ADHD. Haha. All jokes aside, I just want to share what I've been up to this past week. Last Sunday, I was overcome by the amount of time I waste on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Yes, I know that John Lennon said that the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time...but still, you can't help but think of the time that's passed, passing, and will pass. How you can't get any of it back. Sometimes, I find myself on the verge of hating the concept of time... I once saw a picture of a vandalism, "time doesn't exist, clocks do." I can't help but wonder why the person who invented clocks did it... Why was it so important to know the time? The philosopher who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes said it most sensibly:

There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

 It got me thinking... Should I really allot a time for checking Facebook and Twitter? If the philosopher lived during our time, will he add a line saying "a time to tweet and a time to post a status"? It can be a possibility! Especially now when everyone seems to like sharing everything that's going on in their lives, their likes, dislikes, rants and whatnot. So that Sunday, I thought to myself, why are you wasting your time in front of a computer when you can do so much more. That night, I also decided that I will make time away from those networking sites. I unplugged my computer to plug in my heart, to spend some time with the Lord (and also some time with my thesis and in front of the TV). Fasting from Facebook and Twitter may seem like a small task but its effects are tremendous. Come Monday, I have lesser things to procrastinate with. I had more time to work on my thesis and to reflect about some of the problems I have in my life right now. It gave me more time to work on school requirements, to think, to pray, and to get closer to God. Fasting is usually for food but when you go online on Facebook or Twitter everyday like it's a necessity, I think it's something that can be a good start for you in learning how to fast. Fasting is something you do to enable more of your spirit to hear clearly what the Lord is saying to you. It will help you focus more on your relationship with Him. It's already Friday and I haven't logged in on Facebook for four days. I believe I can still go on without that site for a few more days and that's what I plan to do. This post will serve as my commitment to cutting time from social networking sites to give more time for my relationships (with thesis, friends, and most especially, with God). Please pray with me. :)