Week 6: Wildlife?

Weekly Digital Detox Reflections

Hello and welcome to my weekly digital detox reflections. Last week I got some great comments from some readers about progress they have made towards digital minimalism and I want to keep that going! If you have done a digital detox recently and made progress or struggled, whatever the case may be, please share!

Progress Report

This week was much easier for me than the last. I was in a really good groove in terms or staying away from my devices. My family as a whole has also made progress. My wife and I decided that at 6 O’ Clock each evening we would turn off all our digital devices. We are starting this now so that when the kids get older they understand, that at this time each evening, we disconnect from our devices and read, write, talk, play, what have you. The point is that we learn to live without the digital technology. We are fortunate to be putting these practices in place while they are so young and I pray we will find and implement other ways to help us become as digitally minimalistic as we can be.

I can also firmly say that we seem to be doing a good job of getting my daughter to love physical books! She is in this wonderful phase right now where she will run to the bookshelf, grab a book, run back to me and say “read book!” I then read to her, get very animated and silly and she just giggles and giggles. It’s the best! I hope and pray that this is helping her develop a love for reading.

Where my thoughts have been

This past Tuesday, I was at one of my last customers of the day when I noticed something I found to be really comical. In the middle of the concrete jungle known as Columbus, GA I came across a “Certified Wildlife Habitat”.

I don’t mean to pick on the National Wildlife Federation. I’m sure there are many fine people who work for this organization. But I mean…come on, man. How in the world does it make any sense to look at this meticulously landscaped plot and declare anything about it “wildlife”? My first thought was, this is by far the most tame piece of “wildlife” I’ve ever seen! I could not help but giggle to myself. If someone knows anyone from the NWF, or anyone reading this happens to have information about this organization and can give us some insight about what they do (more than what the website provides) please feel free to comment. I really don’t mean to be a jerk. But let’s be honest. This is just silly.

I just want to know, does this mean no pesticides or harsh chemical are used to keep this plot so tame? What are the qualifications that it meets in order to be certified?

I realize 4 pictures might be a little redundant but I really just want to drive the point home that this location, is miles away from anything resembling “wildlife”. It’s funny to me and also kind of sad that I live in a society where we are so disconnected from nature that we can label something like this “wildlife”.

Scripture of the Week

“So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18‬:‭12‬-‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I chose this scripture because the way God calls Sarah out at the end has always made me laugh.

Word of the Week

Fatuous- Silly, foolish.

Why Fatuous? It’s just a good word. Also very appropriate for this week's reflection.

Song of the Week

“Happiness” (Dance Floor Edition) - The 1975