We just packed our TV away in the closet for the summer season. I assume we are in the minority, as far as TV’s go, though I have been recently hearing more and more people taking this approach. We have one TV in our otherwise relatively normal suburb home and since we don’t have cable, it’s basically used to watch movies here and there. For the summer, it’s in the back of the closet, waiting to pulled back out late this fall.
I recently heard that Americans spend 23 hours a week watching television. The possibility that some folks watch TV nearly one full day of every week is astounding! I know that this is only an average and that some people might be multi-tasking, and that statistic may not even be accurate. But after living a TV free life for many years now, I can’t imagine where I would fit TV into my regular schedule! I have too many things I want to do.
I’m not preaching against it or anything – I always enjoy seeing television when I’m at a family member’s home or a motel. But as I lifted the old tube from the stand today and put in the closet, I thought, ‘I wonder if there are others who would benefit from the same thing’. If so, here are some thoughts:
– Invest a summer having totally free evenings and weekends for interaction with friends and family.
– Create space in your schedule to do some things you’ve always wanted to do.
– Save the money from your cable bill and do something great.
– Get a solid start to each mornings with more important things in life – reading, prayer, exercise, breakfast, etc.
– Take note of how you feel mentally after you haven’t been aggressively bombarded with negative news and unrealistic ads.
– Enjoy company in your home without being focused on the TV show.
– Re-arrange your living room furniture for human interaction and conversation.
– Meet your neighbors.
Let me know how it goes!