Digital Joy & Frustration!

Hi there! Come on in for our time together, I have our tray laid out & today we’re sitting in the warm autumn sunshine. The birds are chirping, a slight breeze is blowing which is a touch on the chilly side but countered by the warm sun.

I have Double Choc brownies with fresh strawberries & a dash of coconut yogurt with a Strawberries & Cream tea blend, absolutely delicious!

Have you noticed how wonderful technology can be?

Especially highlighted in this pandemic in being able to keep in touch with our friends & loved ones, working from home through lock down, children doing their classwork through digital education lessons & teacher/student zoom times.

We have even been able to have church services online with people digitally meeting together.

We have had Medical appointments through digital devices & haven’t had to leave our homes. I mean this has truly been a blessing in these times of isolation for so many.

Although, there has also been lots of technology frustration! Hubby & I haven’t been able to do most of these things.

Why?

Because we live in an area which our government has labeled as a Digital black spot, this means that our signal is weak & intermittent because of the lay of the land, lots of hills & valleys for the direct Digital Signal to navigate. And we live in one of those valleys!

What is expected in this instantaneous age?

Although, to give our State & Federal governments credit a great deal of money has been spent trying to alleviate this problem but alas it hasn’t improved a great deal.

We have learnt to live with it but it can get a little frustrating when a critical phone call is interrupted, a piece of important information is lost online or during a medical appointment the signal goes out.

There’s an expectation in this day and age that we will have instant digital connection with what we want to access & who we want to connect with..Isn’t there!

Although, this expectation sets up a certain tension & anxiety within us & within our societies. I wrote about this modern phenomenon in my post The Green Eyed Monster

So I won’t repeat that here but digital frustration can get the better of us all, at times!

What does this frustration & anxiety do to our physical & mental wellbeing?

Have you noticed when something happens beyond our control…we react. I recently had just such a situation happen, let me set the scene for you…

We get our groceries delivered since the pandemic began, I love this service as I’ve never enjoyed the experience of grocery shopping.

But now I can sit in my comfy chair & digitally order my groceries online, pick a time & date for delivery, pay a very small delivery fee & wallah our groceries are delivered to our front door contactless by friendly delivery people!

However, just before my recent eye surgery this process went awry, only half of my ordered groceries had been loaded into the delivery van & this wasn’t discovered until their arrival.

The delivery man was so apologetic & gave me instructions to contact head office for them to authorize the rest of my delivery the next day.

Mistakes happen so although I was a little disappointed, I understood & took it in my stride as we say here in Australia.

However, when I tried to rectify the mistake by phoning Head Office our signal was going in & out, the lady on the other end couldn’t hear me properly so kept asking me to repeat the information…several times! And then the signal disappeared! I patiently tried phoning again & the same thing happened!

This was beyond frustrating & I must admit it tried my patience beyond its limit! I reacted with a loud & exasperated “Arrrrrrgh!”…. much to my husband’s surprise because I don’t normally react in such a manner.

And you know what, I found the tension in my body & mind had climbed to an all time high! Which isn’t good for Fibromyalgia!

Why had this episode so interrupted my peaceful resolve?

As I reflected upon this reaction, after the fact, I realized a few things.

This happened a few days before my scheduled surgery, I was trying to get everything organized because I knew during this time of post surgical recovery  I’m very limited in what I can do.

I also wanted to get my necessary gluten free, lactose free & low carb baking done before surgery & you guessed it, the ingredients needed had been in the five bags of undelivered groceries!

But the real reason for the tension was actually far deeper then first meets the eye.

The Past does have an impact upon the Present

A subconscious memory of a serious past trauma regarding an invasive medical procedure was surfacing again because of the scheduled surgery. I shared this past experience & its legacy in detail Here .

The following verse came to mind, reminding myself

“Why are you so unhappy within? Why are you so frustrated? Fix your eyes upon your heavenly Father! Soon you will be praising Him again for He puts a smile on your face & peace in your heart because

He is my God!”

Psalm 42:5 (Paraphrased)

Once I realized this I immediately handed it to my heavenly Father in prayer & His peace that surpasses all understanding was restored.

“…My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

John 14:27

Are you feeling stressed, frustrated or anxious? Is there something deeper going on then first meets the eye?

Maybe it’s time for a little reflection & prayer my friend for His peace, that only He can give to be restored.

And you won’t believe it but now my posts aren’t appearing on some of my WordPress followers Reader feeds nor their’s in mine.

As I calmly sought advice from the lovely tech savvy happiness team, they recommend clearing our Cachè or accessing our WordPress account from another Browser. Hmmm!

Yes, there can definitely be digital joys & frustrations. But God’s peace is always accessible.

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Room

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