I must have been waiting for a pot to boil the day I just kept sharing posts on Facebook. Most of these I posted without comment, which suggests my brain was elsewhere engaged, or turned off.

The first was an interactive map that allows a person to find out whose traditional territory they live on with just one click. More than one person I knew had shared this post and identified which First Nation had traditionally lived and hunted the land where their house is.

As we head for July 1, there is a lot of discussion of the place of indigenous peoples in the founding of the nation of Canada. I came across the post of a sign that read "150/13,000" reminding us that there were tribes and alliances, organized communities of people before the modern political identity of Canada was formed. I also came across a link to a blog about recognizing that Canada has more than two founding nations.

Along with the many Canadian flags along the road and gardens packed with red and white flowers, some significant discussions about our country are taking place in many locations, as well as on Facebook.

The next thing I shared was a video of a child who went to school with an empty lunch box. As other students begin to eat, he opens his box a crack, sees that it is empty, and looks discouraged as well as hungry. He gets permission to go to the washroom, takes his time walking the hall, looks really unhappy. When he gets back, he goes to put his lunch box away and realizes it has something in it. When he opens it, we see grapes, and the child who donated them. There's red pepper strips, and we see a child eating theirs. There are two half sandwiches. His classmates shared so he got lunch.

It is cute to see how happy the other kids are to help him out. It feels good to watch a group provide with so little fanfare. The video provides a reminder of how many hungry children there are in our community, and what hunger feels like.

After I shared this, I started to think more about it. Cute as the story is, this child can't go to the bathroom and come back to a full lunch box every day. There are strategies teachers can introduce that make it easy for kids to share. And surely it would be better to provide family support so the lunch box is filled at home.

Another post I shared looks like a transcript of a radio conversation between a Canadian and an American vessel. The Canadian asks the American to shift their course 15 degrees to avoid a collision. The American responds with the recommendation that the Canadian shift their course. "No," comes the reply, "you need to shift." The American identifies themselves as a naval vessel with lots of fire power and repeats the request that the Canadian shift course. "This is a lighthouse," says the Canadian. "Your call."

Cute and Canadian as it was, I was sorry I had shared it when the next morning there was a real-life report of a naval vessel collision in which several sailors were killed.

A friend had posted memes with quotes from Rabbi Harold Kushner. One asked what would change if we thought of God as a verb. I almost hit share, but I woke up to the fact that I had been thoughtlessly posting. I closed Facebook and carried that thought away with me to ponder.

A bunch of people I don't know liked pictures I shared. Some of them then followed the link I'd posted to last week's column and liked it. Facebook had been reminding me to post on the page where I promote my books tisking at me that I had been ignoring my followers. Since that day when I was bored waiting for a pot to boil, Facebook praises me for prompting so many interactions.

But Facebook, I think I should tell you that I only post to the page when I have something thoughtful to say. Random sharing does not engage in real thoughtful introspection. I think I will be stingy with the share button for a while.

Cathy Hird is a farmer, minister, and writer living near Walters Falls.