Why I Gave Up TV

Why I Gave Up TVAnd My Life Changed for the Better

Why I gave up TV and my life changed for the better shares my efforts to “Live the Good Life” – a chosen, dedicated vision where imperfect efforts can lift my spirits and feed my soul.

My mom and I would watch television in her room pretty much every evening while I was growing up. I remember wondering if I was killing brain cells on the constant diet of 1970s-1980s reruns—even as a kid, I knew they had the equivalent mental value of a Twinkie. But mom used to say, it was her only way to relax. And it was relaxing, in a park-the-brain sort of way. So, as I grew into the adult world of fiscal responsibilities, I turned to television as a form of relaxation. When I could get it.

While serving as a volunteer teacher in Chicago, the only show I seemed to ever find on the tiny television in the attic room I was renting was The Brady Bunch. That never relaxed me. The South Side of Chicago in the late eighties and laugh tracks did not mix well. More like entering The Twilight Zone.

In the Peace Corps, Philippines, there wasn’t a television within miles. Not for me anyway. Just as well, I had plenty to do, trying to learn Cebuano and figure out how to teach teachers fresh ways to teach kids in a world I hardly understood.

After returning to the U. S. and getting married, my husband reintroduced me to the world of television. But he had high-minded tastes. Lots of documentaries. My kids weren’t so thrilled. Eventually, we just read books out loud and had more fun that way.

After my husband passed away and I was raising and homeschooling my kids, I returned to popular television as a way to relax after a stressful day. I had missed a lot. So, I spent time searching and finding some gems; Downton Abby was one of my favorites.

But all too soon, I had to work harder and harder to find quality programming. The kids grew up and chose their own programs in their own time. We live in a different world now. Everyone has a computer, and they watch what they like, when they like. This is no longer a world where mom owns the only television in the house. Thank goodness.

This summer, when things became a tad hectic, I wondered where I could find a little extra time to de-stress. And it dawned on me that I had the same amount of time I always had, but I wasn’t always using it well. The two or three television series I had been rotating through often left me distressed and even led to bad dreams. When I sat down to watch something on the weekend, the impulse to just keep watching and stay up later than intended was a constant temptation. I was trying to relax, yet I felt more anxious than ever.

In an inspired moment, I hurried downstairs, dug through all the kids’ old school drawing pads, and found one with half the pages left blank. Then I searched till I found some colored pencils. And, yes, I had to sharpen them. Then I made my way back upstairs, pulled up a couple of photos on my phone that I had taken while at the park, and I started to draw.

My efforts were faulty, ridiculous, and pitiful. Humbled, I thought maybe I’d start a little smaller. On a walk the next day, I found a pretty leaf. I decided that I was capable of drawing one maple leaf.

I wasn’t. Not really. But I could outline it. Then I copied—sort of—some of the veins. Then I went completely crazy and started having some fun. I pulled out colored pencils that the leaf was not and drew designs that weren’t there. The results amazed me. My picture looked nothing like a leaf on the table. But it was attractive and lifted my spirits in a way that television had not done in years.

A couple of weeks later, I dug through a stack of ancient piano books—relics of my family history—and I found a couple of the simplest songs I had plunked out on the piano when the kids were young. Guess what? I could still plunk.

Astounding.

While I was drawing, all sorts of creative ideas came into my head. Piano—not so much. I had to concentrate to make my “music” sound better than what the cat played when he walked over the keys. But the creative effort still paid off. My mood lifted and I felt more “alive.”

I will undoubtedly watch television again. Maybe when one of the kids is home and has a good suggestion. But what I have learned through this little television fast was how intentionality makes me feel better.

“De-stressing” and living the good life have little to do with parking my brain or staying stuck in old habits. For me, the good life is living a chosen, dedicated vision. I am not doomed to sit through a show I don’t like simply because my desire to get out of a comfortable chair turns to sludge. Reruns or poor programming do not have to be my future. Not if I have an alternative.

Instead, I may sit on the porch and watch the cats/squirrels/rabbits outsmart the dogs. (Poor dogs, they mean well.) Or I might read a few poems, maybe memorize one I especially like. I could make homemade bread, knit a blanket with all sorts of wild colors, or clean the cabinet that’s been bugging me for years.

I could write a whole list of alternatives to television. But the key for me was not big or complicated; it was simply being willing to try just one, adjust as needed, and live my life.

Why I Gave Up TV