I may have mentioned before that I’m a fan of St. Ignatius (the actual saint, not a school) and his spirituality. The Spiritual Exercises and Daily Examen have both been foundational for my prayer life. Ignatius talks about having moments of consolation (a strong closeness to God) and desolation (distance from God) throughout the day and part of praying the Examen is reviewing one’s day and paying attention to those moments. It finally dawned on me yesterday that I have moments of desolation around one daily activity.
Answering email.
I always wondered why I felt jittery and anxious whenever I went through email and part of the problem is that I have left my email software open all day so whenever an email would come through, I would stop and read it. I wouldn’t necessarily answer it, but it would distract me. I tried an experiment today, then, by opening it only when I was ready to actually read and answer email–I blocked off the time, actually said a prayer before diving in, and found it to be a much more rewarding experience.
Email has been way, way too convenient for me. I’m too plugged in and accessible. Limiting that today was so helpful. A moment of consolation, you might say.
Next task: Limiting Facebook.