Can Twitter Be a Spiritual Discipline? Yes, Really

Twitter is my spiritual discipline. Yes, really.

The Advent Words this week are taken from the Way of Love, a collection of ancient spiritual practices collated for today's followers of Jesus: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest. Today's word is Go.

And that is what I do every morning. After first I turn, setting my intention toward Jesus, and then I worship with the psalms, learn with the day's Scripture lessons from the Daily Office, and pray for the world, mostly for our political leaders, finally I go to Twitter, looking for somebody to bless.

There are those who think Twitter is all about politics and celebrities. It's easy to disdain what you don't know.

In fact, it's easy to disdain a lot of people and places that Jesus meant when he said, Go. Easier to disdain than to face our discomfort with something unfamiliar. I have learned a lot and been confronted by a lot that I did not have to face before I went on Twitter. But once out beyond my comfort zone, I find there are indeed ways to bless.

I am not on Twitter to be the pastor or the holy person or the answer person. I am there to be a decent human being. I go to #suicide, find someone recovering from an attempt, and send a gif of a cake to celebrate their survival. I make a comment that adds to something somebody else has said. I retweet something I think is worth promoting. I answer a question or ask one of my own, tell a joke, give support.

People like it when their tweets get attention by receiving likes and comments and retweets. That is what I do. I pay attention.

If this makes you curious enough to explore Twitter a bit, here is a link for an article that assumes you know nothing. You gotta love an article that says Step 1 is to go to Twitter.com. I'd add a bit more about hashtags. Hashtags are how you find tweets about your interests. Here is an article about that.

My "handle" is @WillaGoodfellow. My intention is to follow Jesus. I don't do this perfectly. That's why I turn every morning. But more about that on Saturday, when turn will be the word for the day.