Don’t Live Faux Real
We’re living in precious and precarious times. Turning toward the Fall, I wonder how much I can let go of to make space for what matters most. Like a leaf turning, fading and falling away, creating room for what’s to come, I think there are old leaves hanging around that I need to let drop. It might mean I look barren, exposed; when in reality, I’m doing what I was created to do. One of the leaves that has turned on all of us is social media. While one could argue it’s only a mouthpiece of humanity that we’re self-directing, the companies themselves are funded and fueled to promote the hot takes and angry algorithms. Social media cares nothing about seasons, the natural order of things, the sacred rhythms of the moon or liturgical calendar. It is an unnatural tool literally rewiring our brains. This comes at a human cost. Many of us, including myself, have felt its intoxication and some of us are addicted. The doom scroll, the incessant information gathering, the laughter from funny memes that could be spent on actual fun with a real human, are depleting us and our relationships.
My friend just died. She wasn’t my bestie, but she was a sister of sorts, one who gave herself fully away to all the things she was “supposed to” and then cancer ate her from the inside out.
Emily Mills
Published: October 2025 WACOAN Magazine