When enough is ENOUGH
A few weeks ago on Google+, I came across a comment that struck home with me.
Someone had written (slightly paraphrased):
Catholic blogs: so that one more person can comment on the Pope’s abdication and what Pope Benedict means to them.
Please STAAAAAAAAHP!
What made me +1 it was that I related. While I have been a total, completely uncharacteristic newshound since Benedict’s announcement on February 11, I’m sort of “done” with opinions about it.
That comment got me to thinking, though…sometimes, I don’t always recognize when I’ve had enough of something. I’ll keep going, often to the detriment of those around me (in real life and online). I just chug, chug, chug along, plowing through and not caring who or what I’m stepping on.
Recognizing when enough is ENOUGH is handy. Here are three ways I know when I’ve had enough:
1. When I’m getting angry.
Anger is a symptom for me. When things online–whether blogs, my own writing, social media content, whatever–are getting my dander up and my growling going, it’s time to call it enough. Done. Pause. Walk away.
2. When I’m neglecting the present and my primary vocation.
This is me talking to me: I have to remember the now, which is where I’m called to be. Maybe it’s time with my husband, maybe it’s care of children, maybe it’s my paying work. But my primary vocation and the present must not be trumped by the demands of my blog (or my social media presence, for that matter). I fail, yes. And I struggle.
3. When I’m talking out loud to my computer.
Sometimes this one happens because I’m so amused, though it can happen because I’m irate, too. I might be muttering to keep track of what I’m doing. But it’s usually a sign that there are frayed nerves or the need for fresh air.
So, chime in: how do you know when enough is ENOUGH?
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I relate, Anger in particular is a symptom for me that I need to get away and do something else. And there is always that moment when I realize I have ignored the family in favor of internet.
Another symptom for me is the grinding teeth or tense jaw. I don’t notice until my teeth hurt or the tension is moving down my neck and I have a head-ache.
Also, it is when I have ignored my schedule for just a few more minutes or one more email….
Yesssss, true dat.
When I start rolling my eyes as I read.
When it takes a pack of M & M’s as a bribe to myself to make it all the way through something. (Yes, I’ve done this. What?)
When I start talking back to the computer.
Good ones! Add those to my list… 🙂
When I hear the mainstream media news on t.v. as I’m walking through the living room. I talk back to the t.v. commentator(s)–yes, both negative and positive (when it’s warranted). The “reporting” about “what politics are going on among the Cardinals during the Conclave” is grating. Interesting how none of the reporters has ever been a Cardinal participating in a Conclave but provide the “inside scoop”! EWTN for me. Watching for the white smoke with prayer.
Reenie, yes. I haven’t watched any mainstream media coverage of it, but I can JUST imagine. 🙂
the secular mind cannot grasp the mind of God melanie’s version of St. Paul
My alert when enough is enough comes when my mind wanders to my blog or other media when I mentally need to be where I physically am. For example, during the homily I may be revising my blog in my mind instead of hearing the priest give me the wisdom I will most likely need very soon. Other times I physically leave what I need to be doing such as cooking dinner and I just have to stop, go back to my office and change something right now! The kettle whistles, the dinner overcooks, but I am nowhere near the kitchen. Or the clothes I need to wear today are still in the washer from yesterday. I repeatedly heard the chime reminding me to put them in the dryer, but I was busy on a website. Perhaps this distraction mentality is part of the creative process, but it can push out the real-life events and relationships that I cherish.
Oooo, yes, Nancy, I relate to those too!!
Now I feel really guilty. I think I’m one of the many who are responsible for the glut of Pope Benedict opinions. my recent post on Catholic Creativity was precisely on how much Pope Benedict meant to me and how closely I was able to relate to him. I felt the need to share that.
Given this, I feel the most difficult aspect of blogging is finding something worthwhile or relevant to share, and that what I share is only contributing to the “internet noise”.
So maybe I should just be quiet and not contribute, and thereby abdicate my responsibility (and need) to evangelize.
Any thoughts? Maybe this was not the point of this post.
NOOOOO, Fr. Jim!!! This was more an examination of when I know I’ve had enough of the internet, not a specific “quit pope blogging” or pointing a finger at anyone. Me, I couldn’t get enough in some ways. Though I didn’t participate by writing, I did partake muchly.
So don’t be quiet, ESPECIALLY if you are saying something worthwhile (which you ARE, I’m SURE of that!).
Sorry if this came across personally in that way; it was NOT intended that way AT ALL!
Thank you so much, Sarah. I know I needed to write that piece on my response to Pope Benedict’s retirement. Of all the popes I’ve (at least) been aware of in my lifetime, from Paul VI on, Benedict XVI is the one to whom I can most relate. Here’s why: http://www.catholiccreativity.net.
Thanks for putting me at ease.
Sorry I put you ill at ease, Fr. Jim. 🙂