Getting at the Reality Behind the Screens

with Randy Southerland, RScP

Screens. So many of them. Different sizes and shapes. All there to mediate, separate and ultimately connect me to the world beyond my room that is hidden from my sight.

iPhone. iPad. MacBook. Android. So many different names. So many little windows.  So much to see.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the view they give me. All the knowledge. All the facts. Images. And, even lies.

Don’t get me wrong, I love screens. I spend most of my day in front of one screen or another. As a freelance writer my day is consumed with the task and the challenge of typing words onto a silent screen. Through my screens I can instantly discover facts and sources and information that would have taken days or weeks in the now distant past.

Screens were a lifesaver during the pandemic when so many of us were cut off from family and friends and the normal interactions of daily life. They allowed us to see and hear loved ones and see ever so virtually the gatherings and spiritual services that were denied us. 

It also produced great loneliness and a sense of disconnection to the rest of the world. I felt it. And so did many others. While you might choose at certain times to be alone, to separate yourself from others for a time, the pandemic imposed on us something that was not a choice. 

Screens helped, but our hyperconnected world became one that was lonelier than ever. Our sense of community and connection to others was lost for many.

In New Thought we have this idea of Oneness. That we are all connected in a great web of existence. We are  individualized expressions of this one mind that some call spirit, the divine, the one mind or God.

I think it’s that spiritual connection that also demands that we come together in community. We aren’t meant to be separated, isolated and most of all not lonely. Loneliness is a signal that we need to connect.

It’s a signal that we quickly responded to once the pandemic came mostly to an end. We wanted and needed to connect.

I see that need now on Sunday at Center for Spiritual Living Tampa Bay. Here are people seeking human contact and interaction unmediated by screens and algorithms.

And it’s a reminder that it’s in community that we can truly be ourselves and to realize our potential. Participating in a community that allows us to express our attitudes, values, and goals is vital to living a fulfilling life. I see people helping others in need. I see warmth and connection.

I hope you see it too.

It’s become increasingly clear that an absence of social connections is a source of all kinds of health problems – both psychological and physical.

So if you want to be happy and healthy the best path is to join a community. It’s doesn’t matter how many are there. It’s only important that you connect.