This week I made the decision to close my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I’m still on Instagram. While a brief bit of nastiness followed a post I wrote about having breakfast with a friend who was a Republican was the proverbial final straw. (Heaven forbid we should have friends with whom we disagree) The departure has been on my mind for sometime.

You’ll recall in my book Everyday Spirituality, I discussed the value of an annual fast or sabbatical from Social Media. I highlighted the benefits of time and energy saved for other activities. Since experiencing that Social Media Fast, I’ve often wondered about the value of Twitter and Facebook in my daily life. My frequent justification centered around such topics as its usefulness in communicating important announcements, connecting with friends and family as well as the value of an exchange of ideas. I still believe those have merit for many people.

And yet, one of the things Covid19 has taught me centers on a question of ultimate meaning. “Who am I and what kind of a person do I want to be?” One would have thought after 61 years, I would have already answered that question. In reality, I think these queries need to be revisited regularly.

As my self-examination of who I am and what kind of person do I want to be continued through these months of quarantine and semi-quarantine, I’ve realized the strength of my desire for a more mature spirituality, a deeper level of compassion and a growing desire to be the change I want to see in the world. Yes, I’m quoting Gandhi in that last phrase. If those three desires are to be cultivated, then what activities would strengthen them?

The activities I’ve come up with range from starting a vegetable garden to engaging myself challenging subjects. Those topics include social issues such as economic injustice, racism and climate change, They also include learning more about the Christian mystical tradition and depth psychology as it relates developing a more mature spirituality. All this while still experiencing the challenges of serving as a Bishop in these changing times.

I’ll grant that engaging in Social Media could be one tool in this work. Some of you may find that helpful for you. I can see a validity in your perspective. However, the more I evaluated my use of Facebook and Twitter, the more I realized they were not contributing to my goals. I’d been teetering on the edge of a decision, and am delighted to have been pushed.

I estimate that I’ll gain about 5-7 hours per week now, since I was on those platforms about one hour a day. What will I do with this extra time? Well, if past behavior is a predictor of future outcomes, it looks like another book could be in the pipeline. The last time I abandoned social media, the extra time yielded Everyday Spirituality. I’ve got two books in my head right now. Life is Not Fair: The Book of Job for our Time and Everyday Leadership: A Guide for Parents, Poets & Presidents.

I’ll let you know what happens.