I was a telly addict for years. Almost every waking hour that I could get away with would be spent watching what I heard referred to as the ‘electronic demon’. The thinking behind it was that something I liked was bound to be on and even if it wasn’t, I could watch something else while I waited.
The change began when I went to university. In that first year I lived in halls of residence. As I wasn’t rich enough I had a twin deck CD tape player/recorder but I had no TV for my room! How was this TV geek going to cope without the tube? Well I actually thrived without it. The stories were true – you could have a life without having a TV. Exploring this made me seriously consider the role TV plays in me life. Although there times when I would crash out in the couch and let the TV watch me, an outstanding click had turned in my head. If there’s nothing on the TV – switch it off.
In fact it highlighted what life is like when it is centred on an activity that is an enshrined life ritual. That challenged me to centre my life on something that matters. Once that happens, then my mind doesn’t have to be bogged down with relatively irrelevant and often irreverent material broadcast. Indeed now there is more a sensitivity that says if it doesn’t fit the centre – whether it’s a TV programme, web-site, conversation or book that I’m reading – I might as well just switch it off.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 