(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feed)

Verb:

1. give food to.
2. supply (a machine) with material, power, or other things necessary for its operation.

Noun:

1. an act of giving food, especially to animals or a baby, or of having food given to one.
2. a device or conduit for supplying material to a machine.

Like a lot of people, I struggle with my relationship to facebook. I flip flop between enjoying the ability to see my friends kids nearly every day no matter where they live and absolutely despising it. As a therapist, I tend to lean toward despising it. I hear time and time again in my practice, “well on facebook  insert cruel comment or evidence of harassment here.”

It hit me the other day when I caught myself in a pattern that I tend to mindlessly adapt. Somehow, with out thinking, I will begin to check fb and my email at one time throughout my workday. As if fb posts/emails/whatever are just as important as running my business.

I caught myself and was immediately frustrated. What is it about this platform that leads to such mindless consumption? I am an intentional person. I have to be both as a business owner and therapist. So what is it about fb that gives it the power to insert it’s self into my life without me hardly noticing?

The fb “Feed.”

It struck me how powerful that term is. As if fb is offering nourishment. As if the information that it chooses for me to see is all I need.

It reminded me of a Rich Roll Podcast I listened to recently with Andrew Morgan. Andrew said he was challenging the narrative we are continually conditioned to accept by the media, “we are consumers first, people second.”

That is what Facebook tells you every time you log on. Every time you scroll through your “Feed.” You are a consumer. Fb has created a virtual world in which you are what you buy, post, produce, achieve, manifest, spend time doing, drive, and where you work. All the other seemingly endless variations of the complex human experience are excluded.

I don’t know about you but I prefer to be fed by more nourishing  sources. Family and friends, good books, nature, serving in my community, the joy of adventure, long walks with Abbeygale, gratitude, and God.

What feeds you?