Recently I watched a very interesting movie on Netflix- my go-to place for fantastic programming including a lot of interesting series and especially global content, which I delight in! It was actually a documentary called “Minimalism” about two men who abandoned their high-flying lifestyles to live more simply- it’s really well-made, with lots of great scholars and interviews with similar movement leaders. And for me, it named an issue I have been feeling for a long time, which is out of control materialism, and how to counter it by practicing minimalism. What the documentary does is put many facts together that we have heard separately, like how many times each individual checks their phone during the day! Astounding statistics, one after another, and when put together, pretty scary and action generating!
So for me it moved me to action, on a very small scale. What if I did something I have been meaning to do for quite a while: what if I went on a Facebook Fast for a while? I am a Facebook addict, going on it many, many times a day, reading, posting, sharing, commenting, and on and on. No, I have not counted the number of times I do it, or the number of hours I consume and yes, I would miss cute memories, friendversaries, important links and news, updates by family and friends, etc. My family and the social community I belong to loves Facebook, and regularly updates photos from events that very same night and everyone does their obligatory likes, comments, late into the night after the event and sometimes even still at the event! It is so endearing, and yet seems strange.
The reason I am calling it a Facebook Fast is because of the practice of fasting from sunrise to sunset for a month in our faith- Islam. What that teaches you – besides gratitude, patience, empathy, appreciation and love of God- is that abstaining from something is a valuable practice, and when we stop the fast, we come back refreshed and nourished. And as my grand-kids are visiting this week, it will allow me to totally focus on them and be fully present, without worrying about what/when to post on Facebook! I am not sure if I will succeed, and the lure of Facebook will snap me out of my fast- there is no moral or other compunction that will keep me from breaking the fast. Indeed some conversation or other will mention something to Facebook, and I will not be able to control my urge to check it out!
On a sadder note, our best friend Sajjad lost a beloved nephew, Nauman to a massive heart attack, and as I left the burial services yesterday, it made me reflect on life, living, time and value. What do we do with our time on planet earth while we have the chance? Being in this reflective and grieving state only encourages me further to disconnect for a while and see how I can add more value in my own life while I have the time.
Of course, I hope you do read my post on Facebook!
Mino Farooq Akhtar
December 27, 2016
www.sufidialogue.com
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