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I'm going to make a change starting with a news/TV fast. (sm)

Posted: Oct 14, 2010

Longer than I can remember, the daily news has been more and more depressing. Tragedy, civil unrest, your rights vs my rights vs their rights, violence, horrific scandals and scheming, disgusting political tactics, and so forth. Most of the TV shows even are just pushing the envelope too much. It is stressful.

I didn't realize how stressful all of this was until I watched every single Chilean miner being rescued. That story did more for my belief in human spirit, compassion, the good of humanity, our technological progress, and the brotherhood we all should be sharing on this planet.

The same day the rescue was about to start, I also cried over other stories in the news like the Amber Alert being cancelled for that poor little girl whom everyone knew was being abused but did nothing. We should all remember: Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.

I'm not saying there are not any positives out there in the news or on TV but it is overwhelmingly negative, stressful and destructive.

I have decided to spend the rest of this year on a sort of news and TV fast. Not a complete fast but modified to significantly reduce how much I am exposed to this stressor. I'm going to watch a total of 1 hour of news a day (half hour first thing in the morning and half hour early evening - NOT just before bed). I will allow myself to watch 1 scheduled movie a week (if there is one that excites me to see on tvguide.com) and a maximum of 5 hours of nature/history/educational-type programs (cooking, home decor, etc.). I will only allow myself to surf online for 30 minutes a day.

Instead of that TV watching (even just leaving turned on and "muted" - we do more "reading" TV than anything, lol), I am going to read a national newspaper every single day. I am going to read a good novel each month (at least). I am going to check e-mail just once a day outside of my 30 minutes of Internet surfing. I am going to take 1 free online class through MIT's free courseware. I am going to learn to knit. I am going to learn to make a new dinner and dessert. I am going to walk an hour a day. There are so many other more productive things to do out in the community, too, like volunteer an hour a week to read to nursing home residents, make cookies for the local mission, spend an hour a week at the local animal shelter, help with the local food bank. What do you want to do? I just don't want to waste anymore time and get nothing out of it except feeling bad, stressed, upset and lost time.

Let's do something productive. Doesn't have to change the world but it can change us. Let's not waste any more time, energy, emotion without doing something for ourselves and others. I'd like to share my journey of change with you and I would LOVE to hear about yours!!

Anyone interested in joining me?!

Man in the Mirror

;

re: Man - Kiki

[ In Reply To ..]
I cancelled cable TV 3 years ago and became very selective about WHAT news programming I would give credence to. Even local news is hardly local anymore!
I watch a lot of public TV shows now and don't miss infomercials at all.

I switched from a "smart phone" to a regular old cell phone too.

Good for you and good luck to you.

You're going to find many many ways to spend those many extra hours away from the idiot box and find your life is a lot more relaxed and your mind freer. I would also obsess over news stories. a couple of years ago I spent almost all day watching the 9-11 "anniversary footage" and found myself crying most of the day and was in a horrid depressed mood after.

I only use the computer to work and occasionally shop and also allot time to spend surfing.

(It is so sad when we calculate how much time we spend on the computer and in front of the TV. I have a picture of my yard from 3 years ago and from earlier this summer! What a difference, from so-so and patchy to a zen garden!) We begin to live our lives around programming and won't do anything healthy or constructive 'cause we "have" to watch a show or "might miss something"... I'm SO with you.

â�º

I film what I want to watch. Don't like news or commericials. - My own back yard.

[ In Reply To ..]
I can not stand to sit in front of a TV or computer with no purpose. It is a waste of time. I limited my news viewing a long time ago, as 2 girls had been abducted and killed in our state and I freaked out. My daughters said I just became over-bearing with monitoring their every move. They really were right. It even kept me awake at night and affected me all the time. Our local news has become nothing but a gossip hour anyway.

I just record the TV shows that I want to watch, and they are there when I get to them. I can't control what is going on nationally, and I can't fix all of the problems presented daily. I worry about my own community and try to make things nicer in my own back yard. If everyone in America did that, it would be a much nicer place to live.

Hey, I'm with you on the smart phone... - Mt 62

[ In Reply To ..]
Welcome to the do not like smart phone club. I upgraded to a Blackberry storm and I went back to my flip phone after about 4 grueling months. Don't miss not checking my email on it at all. My computer is just fine for email. At least the Blackberry makes a great camera and great alarm clock so it's not sitting there totally useless. I love my old flip phone now. It's like I need a phone that feels and acts like a phone and works CONSISTENTLY! And I'm with both of you on getting rid of cable. It's not accurate news anyway on there so why waste time. Next time my husband suggests getting rid of cable, I'm going to take him up on it. Tired of the trash they call entertainment and news they call news.

TV fast - oldone

[ In Reply To ..]
I went on a TV fast almost 2 weeks ago. Horrible news stories, News Alerts from Fox just to get us fired up, horrible reality shows featuring people you would not let near your family but we're expected to watch...now election coverage already speculating on presidential election 2 years ago. Miss TV a little but have decided to stay on TV fast for about 2 more weeks. Have to start watching football again...live in Alabama and the Iron Bowl will be coming up soon. I can tell you that the first day or 2 without TV was hard...now I am more content, read more, work better...I think I'll do this fast a few times a year.

I need to fast too, as I am addicted to the news - lka

[ In Reply To ..]
Great idea man in the mirror! As I have gotten older I have the TV on almost all the time (mainly for company) as I am single and live alone. I have always been a news junkie and I am SO sick of it all. I get so angry with these politicians and all the lying that goes on. I am powerless to do anything about it and yes, it angers me to no end. I don't watch any reality TV and everything that is on even the history channel and discovery most of the time is repeats. I am paying a fortune for Direct TV and nothing.... Many of my siblings revolve their lives around TV, literally. They will not go out on certain nights because of what is on. One sister has watched every movie on Lifetime and LMN I swear 55 times!!! I would much rather read and have always been an avid reader, reading a lot of history, biographies, hardly any fiction, and even that gets "heavy" at times ya know. I just recently read "The Help" a fiction book that was so uplifting. I also watched the Chilean miners coming up and it was such a jubilant story wasn't it? I thought, OMG, such great news for once. That is what is missing in my life, and even a fiction novel once in a while.

My favorite thing to do in the morning is to make some good coffee and read the paper with complete silence, no TV and no radio and I just love the peace and quiet, the silence. I am glad I read your post and the others and think I will try also to limit my TV watching, especially all of the news...

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