Rain

Rain. As the weather has turned unusually wet over the past few days, it’s given me cause to think about rain. Or, in a broader sense, water. It gives life. In fact, it is so integral to all life on this planet that, as we search the cosmos for other planets that might be capable of supporting life, humans, the presence of water is seen as a good indicator.
On the other hand, water is one of the most destructive forces on Earth. A few teaspoons can kill you if it invades your lungs. It erodes land. Sometimes a bit at a time. Carrying bits of earth in tiny rivulets flowing down a gentle slope. Other times, far more violently, in mudslides that endanger everything in their path.
Add a bit of air in the form of wind, and you have a whole new host of hazards. Storms, waterspouts, typhoons, hurricanes, monsoons, steam devils. The list goes on and on. Or what if we consider the other minerals the water is carrying, salt, for example?
At any rate, this isn’t meant to be a treatise on water. My point here is that something that at first blush seems rather mundane, clear, odorless, tasteless, can be a boon or a bane to life. And I suppose I feel much the same way about social media.
It can bring us together. Connect people with like interests across continents and oceans. It can be used deviously. To spread disinformation. Sow the seeds of discord. It can give a platform to the virtuous among us or the unscrupulous.
I can no longer avoid social media. And while I recognize its potential for harm, I am choosing to focus on its capacity to do good. I market my books. I try to lift others up as well. I seek advice. I offer advice when I’m able.
If social media touches your life, I encourage you to think of rain as you use it. What it brings. What it can bring. Are you a force for life and growth or something else?