Shutting Down

I recently finished a book called, Competing Spectacles, that refocused my vision. Doesn't every individual and corporation do the same thing from time to time? We hire marketing, design, or investment firms, to help us revamp, refresh, or rebrand in order to avoid a total shut down? Partial shut-downs help us find where the paint is chipping or the chips are getting stale.
Whether its a revival or corporate fast, the goal is to remain running, and we need to regain focus and momentum to do that.  If not, a slow fade like the end of a broadway spectacle begins to dim our lights; our initial zeal for a cause, a calling, or a company cannot withstand the test of time. It's simply natural to become disenchanted as time progresses. In the same way that time can heal, time can also hurt us when it comes to our self-awareness and resolve. What better way to distract our focus than to have screen handy 24/7.
The author of Competing Spectacles, Tony Reinke, states that "we are now more media obese than we are physically obese. And we are not happier. We are lonelier. We are more depressed" (134). Only I would add that we are not even aware of our depression or our physique because we continue to consume and binge watch in order to avoid the problem, just as an overweight individual continues eating to avoid facing their weight issue. When culture says something is "normal," then time allows us to relax the initial shock and become anesthetized to it, and then our consumptions slowly increase. I'm not saying that everyone who watches Netflix is media obese, nor is it wrong to enjoy the luxuries of technology (I certainly appreciate ordering groceries from my phone and having them delivered to my car in the rain). Reinke echoes this notion when he iterates that, "The antinomian who watches whatever he wants in the name of Christian freedom is just as naive as the legalist who celebrates his rejection of all television and movies and screen time as evidence of his Christian holiness" (135).
Screen time is all relative, but when it entered American homes in the 40s (the 19s that is... as my son reminds me...  when things were "old" because it will soon be a different 40th century) it changed our world in a greater way than almost any other invention with the exception of transportation. That being said, it's not a matter of how much or how often (although pediatricians are now required to question parents on their children's screen time). Rather, I'm reminding myself that we need to be able to recall a world without screens and enter that world from time to time. If not, we may start seeing what South Korea has already experienced: children sent to digital detox boot camps. "The [South Korean] government sees it as a national health crisis and is now taking drastic measures to help the country's 2 million addicts" (Matthew Carney, 2015, abc.net). No one will be surprised by the pendulum-swing. Just as we needed more gyms and personal trainers when cars took away our regular cardio activity, we will soon need to find ways to unplug in order to keep a new obesity from rising to national crisis levels. Technology is always a blessing and a curse, but if we could simply self-regulate by shutting down more often, maybe we could naturally avoid obesity rather than looking for a pill or a camp.
Christmas is one of those "natural" shut down times. We can choose to veg out, we can check out, or maybe we can unplug, literally, from all screens for a day or two in order to refocus, remember, and avoid a complete personal or governmental shut down. Instead of complaining about the busyness of the season, we could try to create our own barriers by turning off in order to tune into something brighter.
All isn't always calm here, but it's always very bright. The light of the world came as a little boy, which I personally love imagining! Here's my bright boys getting ready for the real star...

Annual Christmas tree farm festivities!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas.

Silas ended his first chess semester with a trophy! 

After nap curls even without humidity! Just like his daddy. I can't cut them for a while!

Best Christmas cookies I've ever made!

Twins needed new jammies. Everyone is getting taller over here!

And this cookie wanted to keep on his big-boy Christmas socks all day.

He's getting too big

And everyone is enamored with him!

Roman enjoyed these cookies thoroughly! Except for the lactose test that we are waiting to receive, all has come back clear and normal! A huge answer to prayer! Thank you! We are seeing slow improvement, but just have to "shut down" for the season, watch, and wait. Like all kids are doing right now! :)

~ShutDown Buster