Turning Off Your Television.....

Last January we accepted a challenge from a family friend to turn off our television. I think all of us had our doubts about how this was going to go, but ultimately were very surprised. Initially I missed having the television on in the background while getting ready for work or cooking dinner. After a few weeks I was honestly amazed at how peaceful our home was.
I realized I was hearing birds outside my window in the morning as I was getting ready for work instead of news of rape, murder, war, the election and other tragic events that were repeated at least five times. Instead of starting out the day feeling bogged down about all that was bad in the world, I felt positive about life. I was shocked at the difference in how I felt.

We have had our television off for a year and I am pleased to report not only have we survived, we have actually enjoyed it.

People tell me all the time how crazy their schedules are and how disconnected they feel from family members. I wonder what would happen if they took a time out from television or even limited the amount they watched? My daughter was shocked at how much more time she had on her hands.

At the end of six months we had a family meeting about turning the television on again. Our daughter’s response was, “I think we should keep it off until I graduate from high school. I have too many other things I need to do.” Sweet!

So you may be wondering if we are going to turn the television back on in 2009. If our daughter and I have our way the answer is No! However, some people in our household -no names - would like to watch sports.......

Are you up for the challenge?