Did you know that God created a beautiful, exciting, vibrant, thriving world right in the other room, in the backyard, and out the front door?? Here's a pretty radical suggestion:
There is something that is probably inside your home that is literally extruding the life right out of you. Your television and sometimes, yes, even your computer. These things are fine in moderation, but most of us have gone far beyond that to the point of neglecting those around us. Consider for a moment unplugging your tv, turn off your cable, and greatly reduce your computer time also.
What have you got to lose?
For starters, your very life. Did you know that the World Health Organization estimated that one of the top 10 leading causes of death was a sedentary lifestyle? Link: "http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/release23/en/index.html
What have you got to gain?( annual totals):
- Money..$900 ..The average cable bill is $75 per month.
- Time ..15,355 Hours..An American Time survey finds the average American spends 5 hours per day watching tv.
- Better Grades
- Peace.. witnessing violence in media contributes to violent behavior.
- Weight loss..Television is one of the many contributing factors to obesity.
- Sleep.. Often because of inactivity insomnia occurs.
- Cure of ADHD and related conditions.
- Many more....sexual promiscuity, drug use, alcohol use, and smoking/tobacco use has all been linked to tv. Article:http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm
- Discover the great outdoors, most cities have awesome nature centers, neighborhood parks, bike paths, lakes, etc.
- Find your artistic side, take a ceramic, sculpture,sewing, guitar, piano, drum, class/lessons.
- Volunteer at your local family shelter,church, school, hospital, nursing home, and library.
- Pray, you can't pray too much!!!
- Laugh, tell a joke, listen to one,the world is a constant source of humor.
- Visit the library, this place is full of adventure!
- Museums, there are so many different kinds from art to history to children's to science and more!
- Travel, there are places to discover close by or far away.
- Exercise, you don't have to join a gym, go for a walk, bike ride, swim, hike, climb, or turn on the music at home and just groove on.
- Cook, there are about a bajillion cookbooks out there.
- Adopt a human, visit a local nursing home and choose a new Grandma or Grandpa, become a Big Brother or Big Sister.
- Write a letter, when is the last time you used a pencil/pen and wrote to someone?
- Sing, it's ok even if your tone deaf, flat or off key,it even lowers your blood pressure.
- Smile...You use less muscles in your face than if you frown. Not to mention, you can totally make someone's day!!
- Adopt a pet from the humane society.
- The list goes on.
Are you up to the challenge?
If so, let me know, comment with a link to your blog.
Thank you Debi. I had thought of doing this before Christmas and then I saw this (I think on Tuesday) and it was the last nudge I needed. Thank you for how you inspire me to be a simplemama. :)
ReplyDeleteErika, it was a gradual decision that we made on a daily basis, but when we go on vacation we do watch tv but only a few channels, I just don't want that in my house as a temptation every day. I notice a positive difference in the kids since we gave it up. Until the media stops allowing so much indecent advertising, I am boycotting it. The cool thing is, you can watch EWTN online, so we do that occasionally. I really wish you could select a handful of channels and not support the whole kit and caboodle of junk.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I knew this wouldn't be a "popular" post and I told Don that even if 1 person watches a little less tv, leaving a little more room in their soul for Jesus, that it would be worth it to post it. I do realize there are much more saintly people out there than myself who are not negatively influenced by the media, but I think most people are like me and have a great need to limit exposure.
Sorry...kind of a long response!