Distracted from Destiny

I had a conversation with a friend recently and we discussed the idea of distraction.

More specifically, in light of transparency and vulnerability, she used as an example the fact that I used my phone as my main distraction. A fact ever so gently also pointed out from my mother, sister and others close to me in my day-to-day life.

And sadly…it’s true. I run multiple social media accounts for both personal and professional use and sometimes I use that as an excuse to distract myself from deeper feelings or interactions…definitely not a good trait.

However, the topic started me thinking: How often do we distract ourselves during what could potentially be life-changing moments?

Let’s look at a few examples:

• During a day out with your family do you pull out your phone to text other people instead of enjoying the time you have with those present? You never know when you may lose them…
• When you’re at work do you decide to put your head down into your phone instead of interact with coworkers? You never know who you may be a witness or light in their lives…
• When at a coffee shop do you walk up to the register and really interact with the barista or do you continue texting and liking and snapping? You never know if you could make a connection or put a smile on their face after a long day on their feet…

Daily distractions destroy communication and can delay our destiny. 

The choice to distract ourselves from communicating, from feeling and from interacting is a choice to say that whatever little petty thing we are doing is more important than the people we are with. That the temporary object in our hand is more important than a lasting relationship with a physical being in front of us.

Maybe your distraction isn’t wrong…maybe it’s a hobby. Maybe you’re really good at social media. Maybe, just maybe you’re influencing and inspiring others through your distraction…but it’s ultimately still a distraction if you’re using it to delay your real destiny.

Tomorrow social media and text messages will still be there. But tomorrow the friend or family you’re with may not still be here. And you may have missed a very real connection by pulling out your phone and ignoring the feelings of others in your vicinity.

Real connection starts with transparency, vulnerability and heart-to-heart contact.

This isn’t present with interruptions or while distractions play an active part in your life. Real connection is built by listening. Distractions destroy attention spans and the ability to truly listen to what is going on around you.

Finally, as with everything on this site, we like to link our day-to-day natural habits with our supernatural habits. So, here’s one line left here for you to ponder:

If you are unable to have a distraction-free, real connection in your natural life, how do you expect to have one with the Creator of your world? 

I’m starting with me — will you start with you? Let’s start by cleaning up our lives and removing some of the distractions!