Jealous

I typed out a snarky Facebook post: A quick perusal of FB this evening reminds me that everyone else is having a better life than me.  Then I deleted it.  I was feeling glum.  James was in Hawaii.  Anna’s kids had grown up into striking, good-looking teenagers.  Susan got into a new graduate program and looked great in her snazzy professional suit.  Alexis’ husband was publicly professing love for his beautiful wife who is an amazing mom.  Jane’s family was vacationing in some tropical location so exotically cool that I had never even heard of it. *
 
None of these things were happening to me.  Reading everyone else’s “highlights reel” in my frumpy pajamas, I felt discontent, jealous, and covetous.  I was not experiencing the fruit of the Spirit – there was no abundance of love for myself or others in my heart.  Things were looking pretty ugly inside. 
 
Maybe you already know that the Bible has something to say about this common social media predicament?  Coveting is uniformly discouraged, even condemned, in Scripture.  We see this most famously in the tenth commandment:  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”  A social media version might read “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s partner, or kids, or outfits, or career, or car, or vacation, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 
 
So there was a pretty clear disconnect in that Facebook moment between my life and my faith.  It was mindfulness that got me reconnected, following a path that looked something like this. 
 
I noticed that it was raining and that the sound of the rain was beautiful.
 
I noticed that I was hurting, and that my viewing of Facebook was creating unnecessary suffering. 
 
I chose to step away from the screen and into the present moment. 
 
I closed my computer. 
 
I stood up. 
 
I noticed that my sweet husband of seventeen years was sleeping next to me.  My heart grew warm. 
 
I walked into the next room and saw my sweet son sleeping, ensconced in his stuffed animals.  I felt a wave of amazement and joy. 
 
I noticed the moonlight shining through the bathroom window.  I stood in awe. 
 
I became aware that I had a roof over my head, water piped into my house, and plenty of food in the kitchen downstairs – I felt deep gratitude for these provisions. 
 
I remembered – oh yeah!  This is where life’s good stuff is.  Right here, right now, in the present moment.  But I have to get my eyes off social media, off other people, and onto my own life, with mindful awareness, in order to see it. 
 
* Note: Names have been changed for confidentiality…