4 ways to change the world today

We live in a truly remarkable age of technology. In an instant, we can know what is happening RIGHT NOW on the other side of the planet. Or the other side of the country. Or the other side of the fence. We can know it as if we were there, through real-time video, Facebook Live, Skype, Snapchat, Instagram Live, Periscope... Well, you get the idea.This instantaneous knowledge can indiscriminately show us everything from newsrooms to bedrooms. From baseball to bloodshed. From the sublime to the ridiculous. From the uplifting to the hellish. Even as this technology has the capacity to draw us all together, keep us in contact with people that are not our physical neighbors, and (hopefully) help us see the bigger picture, it can also drain our attention, our internal resources, and our spiritual energy. There's only so much of that to go around; our "live feed" can spread it all too thin, so that we can't focus those energies where we should. Instant global news is a remarkable thing. But how much news is real news? How much of the real news do we need to know?     And of the real news we need to know, how many details are necessary?In this remarkable age of technology, we are also saturated with speculations and opinions and details that add little or nothing to what we need to know. This is too often broadcast in search of ratings and advertising dollars. But it can also be due to a false understanding of charity, as if the more we watch people suffering and the more we listen to the story, the more compassionate we are; or the more we "share" about a tragedy, the more we have done to help the cause.I don't want to minimize the very real GOOD that can be accomplished through social media - as the modern Areopagus, it is indeed where ideas are shared and formulated in community, where people and causes are supported, and where opinions are formed and informed. I am right in there with the rest of the world, hoping to use it as a tool for good. But this is a reminder of the adage that if we don't control our technology, it will control us.When I recently suggested to someone who was very upset that it might be better to stop watching continuous video updates of a recent tragedy (and there have indeed been several truly tragic events across this globe recently), the reaction surprised me: "But, we need to KNOW what's going on! You can't stick your head in the sand!" Well, yes. Agreed. We live in this world and we are our brother's keeper. I am not talking about some kind of "bunker mentality". I am only talking about judiciously limiting what comes at us each hour, so that we are not drained, and our energies can be focused properly.How many of the videos that played before our eyes today were necessary, enriching, or uplifting? How many helped us be better parents, siblings, neighbors, Christians? Some people are very good at limiting their input. For the rest of us, maybe these four reminders will help frame the ways we can improve, and change the world as we know it:

1. No one knows everything. And no one should expect anyone else to know everything. It's ok to admit openly that we don't know what others seem to know (that way they have something to tell us ;-). If there is something "big" happening, we can be sure that more than one person will tell us all about it. Give yourself permission to miss something that others see as essential (even though you're not likely to miss anything valuable unless you really do live under a rock).
2. Filters are protective. Our brains filter stimuli all day long, or we would be overwhelmed at the constant awareness of our own heartbeat or the chirping birds, and whatever else is happening around us but does not need our full attention. Intentional filtering of what we allow into our consciousness is a judicious exercise of the free will God gave us. We can heed St Paul's suggestion for what is necessary: "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things." Give yourself permission to filter out what doesn't fit into these parameters, and fill up with what helps fulfill your true vocation in Christ.
3. What goes in, stays in, and the way we process it becomes part of us. Especially photos and video! We can't forget the images of those suffering from a recent natural disaster, and it reminds us to pray for all those who are suffering. But how many images do we need before we are overstimulated into a kind of numbness? We can still hear the gunshots ringing from the Mandalay Bay, and our prayers go up for the dead and the wounded and the helpers surrounding them. How many different angles do we need to see before we are emotionally exhausted? Give yourself permission to look away from the tragedy and lay it with simple trust at the foot of the Cross.
4. There are only 24 hours in a day. How many of them are spent absorbing more data and imagery and news, and how many are spent PRAYING and DOING what must be done? How often do we spend too much time reading or hearing unending criticism or other people's varying opinions on issues rather than simply praying about it? Give yourself permission to entrust all to the Lord of mercy and focus your energies on the real relationships and practical duties of the moment.

 These are only a few suggestions, reminders that our real power comes from encountering Christ in every moment, seeking His light and grace, and finding the ways we need to strengthen our spiritual well-being.The whole world benefits when one of us draws closer to Christ to become what we are created to be! Let's pray today that each of us finds the way to take a step in the direction of the true holiness to which God calls us, for our own good and the good of the whole world. Right now.