I love when I am moving along, and suddenly take notice of a behavior I am engaged in with curiosity. Without knowing exactly why, I am drawn to pause and say: “Wait, what am I doing?” It usually happens during some regular activity that I never noticed before. It happened recently.
Ever use Google to answer questions for yourself? The term “JFGI” didn’t come from no where. We look to the internet for so many things, without even realizing it. We use it as our personal GPS when driving, our medical dictionary and doctor when we have a diagnosis, our keto calculator when we eat, and our monetary conversion calculator when we need to find out how much the almighty dollar is worth outside of the US.
There is no question that the internet is a helpful resource, when used correctly and coupled with a grain of salt. I certainly benefit from accessing it daily. But when it comes to Soul Searching, this is not the avenue we want to take. I remembered this when I caught myself asking Google about something extremely important. As I typed my question in the text box, I stopped myself: “Wait, what am I doing?” I was instantly stopped like a moving boat thrown into neutral gear, haulting the boat to a standstill.
Am I really asking algorithm tech engineers behind the screens of my life for an answer to a personal question? Is this what all my years of dedication to ”the journey within” have gotten me? Knowing that depending on my geography I will get a different answer? (According the Netflix Documentary “A Social Dilemma” and other sources ask the same question in different locations and get much different answers.)
“Have I lost my mind?” Do I really want to take such a meaningful topic and turn toward social engineering and algorithmic calculations to lead me in ‘ITS’ direction instead of my own? The answer is a resounding “NO!!!”
After saying “Thank You” out loud, in gratitude for the pause, I made two mental notes:
- When it comes to major decisions and important topics (such as grief) we all have at least one person in our lives, whose opinion can help us in a more meaningful, constructive way than Siri can. Even if we don’t, there are other avenues (support groups, published books, etc) where we have a better chance of accessing information of substance, relevance and creditibility.
- If, after reading everything we can find, talking with those we love, trust and know us, including and especially God we are going to the internet for an answer to a deep question, we need to stop and accept the one we already have, and don’t want to.
The answers we seek are within. Always. And only every time. If we CAN’T hear them from ourselves, our loved ones and environments will reflect what we know to be true, until we CAN hear our inner voices. If you have gone through this process on a major decision, think about the ridiculous nature of asking a computer for life advice.
Then laugh out loud, close the laptop, and do the next right thing you already knew to be right, before you signed on.