No One Cares About Your Fake Island! 3 Questions to Bring You Joy

If you’re human (and if you’re reading this, you probably are. If you aren’t, consider contacting me for a business opportunity!), the thoughts that run through your mind probably cause you quite a bit of unnecessary angst. What would happen if we could train our minds to focus on what truly matters? What sort of joy would be possible? And how could we be of use in God’s kingdom with that renewed perspective?

Enter: Dodo Airlines

A couple years ago, my mom (also a teacher) was obsessed with the game Animal Crossing.  She collected fruits after school.  She went fishing and met neighbors on weekend afternoons.  And she talked about it any chance she got.  She even bought the game for my kids so they could play with her.  My boys enjoyed traveling to her island on Dodo Airlines, stealing stuff from her house, and making a mess of her well-decorated bedroom.  She enjoyed watching their characters run amuck at full sprint on her screen. 

Honestly, it was a lot of fun to watch the shenanigans.  I felt an emotional lift from her joy.  And yet I struggled to care or get my head around my mom’s fascination with the game.  From a rational perspective, my brain screamed “No one cares about your fake island!”

The neighbor squabbles?  The last object she needed to find to make some flying carpet? (and how are there recipes for CARPETS?  That doesn’t even make sense!!!)  That sunfish she just caught?  It really doesn’t matter!  

Self-Accountability: My Fake Island

Yup, I enjoy picking on my mom.  God created us as complementary humans whose personalities and interests crack the other up.   But, I’m not that different.  That same summer, I started reviewing my Spanish on Duolingo. My husband is Puerto Rican and is bilingual.  I’m—trying.  I got so caught up in what league I was in that I’d wake up and do a lesson in the bathroom at 11:30 at night.  I had to earn my place in the Diamond Tournament! (Take that SpanishFlamingo24–you’ve been DEMOTED!).  

The truth is, I can be a self-absorbed person, and not just when it comes to digital gaming.  I don’t think I’m alone in this.  As a high school teacher who has taught more than 1,000 students over my career, it seems to be the human condition.  Then again, perhaps I have the maturity of a teenager…all options are equally possible.

The Monkey Mind Doesn’t Matter

Ultimately, most of what our minds drone on and on about ultimately doesn’t matter. Here’s what my monkey mind has been focused on for the past month–writing blog posts, changing jobs, recording an audiobook, planning a summer vacation, and caring for our children.  

Of those topics, very few people give a rat’s behind aside from me.  You are currently reading my blog so you care more than 99.9999% of the world population about the blogging bit.  But, honestly, how much time did you spend in the last month thinking about when my next post was coming out?  None?  That’s what I thought.  How about why my podcast mic suddenly has feedback?  Again…none.  If your answer was anything above “0 minutes,” thank you, and I give you permission to think about something that will actually bring you joy, like this cute squirrel:

The only topic of the above any one but me is actively thinking about is the kids.  And even then, we are up to about 10 people out of the 8 billion on the planet. 

What Truly Matters

Ultimately, when our life is over, only a couple things will matter: the love and kindness we show each other, and the joy that we took in our time on earth.  Everything else is a wash.  Jesus’ parable about the wheat and tares is a great analogy for this.  The important and holy (the love, joy, peace) remain forever, while everything not of God is cast aside when our life is over.  

The Three Steps to Peace

When we live from this realization, we experience freedom.  Let’s give this a try:

Think about whatever is on your mind weighing you down right now.  Do you have it?  Great!  Now, put it to the “fake island” test.  

#1 Does it matter to anyone else but you? (YES?  Perhaps worth being concerned with; NO? Move on to question #2. 

#2 Does it increase the love that you share with others?  (YES?  Great!  If not…go to question #3)

#3 Does it bring you genuine joy?  If so…then enjoy it with all your heart.  But don’t complain about your cranky digital neighbors or how your latest “recipe” didn’t work…I don’t want to hear about it.

When Leaving the Island is the Vacation…

When I am able to release my hold on all the fake islands in my life, I feel so much lighter and able to focus on what DOES matter: giving my family my undivided attention, reading and caring about others’ creative endeavors, creating from JOY, finding little ways to serve and bring a smile to others.  More wheat.  Less tares.  More God.  Less me.

Fun Postscript:

As I was drafting this, my youngest gave our dog a “superhero cape”.  I took a picture.  It wasn’t great.  

My oldest looked over and said: “I take better Fenny pictures than you do, Mama.”  

Listen, dude, no one cares about your FAKE ISLAND!!!