I enjoy using Pinterest, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Mostly, I browse for new recipes and new booklists. Maybe it's just me, but it seems that less and less people read anymore. And, if they do, they don't talk about it much. There's too many other (exciting) things happening in life that literature is thrown aside. In a country where a normal, paperback, English book costs double what I want to pay, I am always hungry for more books. So, I go to Pinterest and prepare a list of books for my Christmas list, birthday list, and to be brought down by me or another traveler. Anyway, while perusing Pinterest recently, one thing repeatedly catches my attention: hacks.
Dieting hacks.
Cleaning hacks.
Organizing hacks.
Camping hacks.
Learning hacks.
Relationship hacks.
Family hacks.
If you need help or struggle with something, there exists a hack.
I list the dieting hack first, because it is always looming over all of Pinterest. For those who are unfamiliar, the site allows users to pick different interests (fitness, outdoors, reading, space, etc.) and only these subjects will be presented in a block-form of articles, recipes, pictures- whatever you have chosen. When I first joined, I listed fitness as an interest. Based on the articles that I am given (pins, they're called) it seems that fitness automatically means dieting. Unfortunately, it is not one dieting article that comes up amongst many articles about fitness motivation, exercises, or healthy tips. The opposite, actually.
"21 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds in a Week"
"10 Tricks to Eliminate Belly Fat"
"5 Diet Hacks to Lose Weight FAST"
I am all for being healthy, but there is something about the word 'hack' that just does not seem to fit when we are talking about the health of the human body. Hack means to cut, trim down, or reduce. Applied to all of these different hacks on Pinterest, and all over the internet, we'll say it means to cut corners, to reduce the effort needed. To hack something means you would love for something to be done, but just don't quite want to put in all of the work to do it. A hack to lose 10 pounds without taking a step out your front door. A hack to reorganize your house by relocating the junk instead of clearing it out. A hack to better your relationship without having to actually have a real, profound conversation.
It is the 21st century, and we are all busy. I know I am.
But, with all of these hacks, I cannot help but feel that we are missing the point.
We are cutting too many corners.
And for what? To spend more time staring at a smart phone as we peer into the lives of others and forget our own? To lose 10 pounds for one week and gain 20 the next? To seem as if we 'have it together' only to lie in bed at night feeling a giant, empty hole inside.
Maybe, just maybe, with all of these hacks, we are literally hacking away at our lives and they're true meaning. Wanting to get to the real meat of our lives, we are hacking away the parts of life that we feel are too burdensome or too much work because they seem unimportant. But those corners we're cutting, they're meat too.
That dieting hack you've found that allows you to lose so much weight in time for beach season without having to exercise or walk outside? Why? For what? Part of the beauty of exercising is actually being outside to smell the air and appreciate the change of scenery, the transient world. Sitting inside with seran wrap on your midsection may make you lose weight faster, but stepping outside not only makes you healthier, it makes you feel better.
Painting, organizing, cleaning hacks? What ever happened to painting a room and finishing with just as much paint on the people as on the walls? Is it annoying? Of course. But it is one fun memory.
One of my biggest pet peeves (and most people know it) is when I am out with friends and my company is glued to their phones. In my opinion, smart phones are one of the biggest hacks of our century. Don't get me wrong, they're extremely useful, but they are hacks. No need to ask for directions, there's an app for that. Don't bother getting a trainer, there's an app for that. The part that irks me is when the apps (code, I think, for hacks) seep into everyday life. You can e-mail from your phone, so you certainly must do it while we are eating dinner at a restaurant. With that hack, that cutting the corner of having to wait until you've gotten home, you have shut me out. You have said to me, without having to open your mouth, that the company of your phone is more appealing than my company. Now, I know I am not the most interesting person in the world. But, if you are agreeing to go to dinner with me, at least give me that hour to 'wow' you with small talk and some fun facts.
So that this blog does not turn into a large rant on my frustrations with society, I will begin to wrap it up.
What hacks do you have in your life?
What are they for?
Do they enrich your life, or do they take away from it?
If you, so to speak, hack the hack, what could you gain?
God's word strictly warns us against getting comfortable in our lives. We are told to accustom ourselves to being uncomfortable. More frequently stated, we are to take comfort in the uncomfortable, the trials. James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
The hacks that we have created for our lives are hacks to eliminate the trials. To cut the corners on our suffering for an easier, pain-free life. We pile on hacks and take on new commitments rather than revel in the ones we have already made.
The need to be busy is a need that exists primarily in developed countries. We think that if we are not busy, we MUST be failing in some way. In order to make ourselves even busier, we come up with hacks to free up time that we can fill with something else.
Stop searching for hacks and start recognizing the real meat of your life.
Get off your tush, get your hands dirty, give yourself a challenge, meet someone new, read a book, go for a walk/run, clean your house, spend quality time with your family.
These are not hacks. They are living.
The ultimate hack for life?
Live it.
