Living in the “Alternative” Universe

By Scott Ferrier, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

Have you noticed these days when out in public how many of us are constantly engaged with our cell phones? While sometimes necessary, it would be my guess that the majority of us are occupied in idle talk, texting, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, reading, watching video, or listening to music on earphones—giving little attention to the need others may have for our charity, being unaware of what is going on around us or, a more remote possibility, being recollected in God. Immersed in our own little world, these distractions for us are becoming what one scholar aptly called an “alternative universe,” impacting all aspects of individual life.

Addicted to a constant stimulation of our senses, we cannot even draw the line as we drive down the highway in heavy traffic! Attention or concern for others is displaced by the irritation or enmity we feel towards a driver who may be in our way. Seriously, an insidious, unhealthy, and artificial relationship can easily develop with the cell phone, computer and the new online social and video media technology. There is danger in this if they are becoming, like television, the most important thing for us. These kinds of distractions, fed by our curiosity, are signs of a spiritual ailment destructive of real relationships, having a devastating effect on the “communion of persons” and upon our own soul.

Recently I read an interesting article on the connection also between procrastination and distraction. In a complete reversal, our everyday tasks and responsibilities are now the distraction and an imposition on the unruly desires of the senses. Our everyday duties now become a burden for us to complete. Of importance to salvation, the depth of our prayer is erroneously measured not from the heart but from the shallows of an over-stimulated imagination. This ailment, the need to be entertained, is one more symptom of a disordered, self-love in search of the “next big thing” in our culture. May the Lord God give us grace to overcome these enemies of our human nature, and may we cooperate with that grace in order to grow more in communion with Him, with our family and with our neighbor.