One thing I accept about my technology is that it isn’t complete. Every device I use is at least slightly obsolete at this very moment, because some bug is being corrected or some security weakness is being addressed. Some piece of hardware or software seems to be in need of an update almost daily.

Of course, we often have some control over when these things happen. We can choose to have our device download and install an update when we’re sleeping, for instance. That way, we’re never inconvenienced.

If we never allowed our devices the opportunity to update anything, we might start to experience some problems. By letting our devices take a moment to download and install some corrections or improvements, they continue to do what they were intended to do. Much of the time, this means our devices have to shut down and restart again with the new programming in place.

In other words, our devices need sabbath. They need to take in some information, rest for a moment (or several), and incorporate the new information into their functioning. They get provided with something that helps them do what they were intended to do better, and they need a little bit of a break to recalibrate and start again.

Sometimes, we forget that our brains are organic computers. We take in a lot of information. If we don’t ever stop, take a breath (or several), and recalibrate, we run the risk of running on obsolete operating protocols. We have a more challenging time doing what we intend to do.

We have a little more agency than our devices regarding what we’re intended to do. Or at least, it feels that way. Our spiritual values provide an internal guidance system to remind us what we intend to be and do. When we recalibrate, they’re the standard toward which we orient ourselves.

My devices have predetermined purposes, mostly oriented around being useful to me as an end user. As human beings, we get to choose our purposes. We get to decide what our True North is. As Unitarian Universalists, we make some assertions about that, and as individuals we probably refine that definition in countless ways.

Sabbath is taking a moment to update our systems. To notice something that is skewing our behavior or attitude away from our intended true north, to recognize we need a bit of course correction, to rest for a moment, and restart with a recalibrated focus on the things we say matter most to us.

Just as it’s impossible to catch all the bugs before any piece of software launches, it impossible for all of our systems to be perfectly aligned toward our spiritual values with no adjustment needed. It’s the little updates and adjustments that help us function as we intend. And co-create a world that functions better, too. Calibrated toward greater wholeness and well-being. 

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