Turning off the tv

I decided I don't like TV anymore. Well, I kind of do but I don't, too. I hate commercials. I don't like wasting my evening watching crap. I dislike the noise, and tv is noisy, make no doubt about it. I don't like that tv is dumb. I mean, where are the smart, witty shows? I don't like having my evening subtly governed by tv, like feeling rushed to finish something by the top of the hour because a show is coming on. I don't like the emotional toll some shows take on me. Wait, I haven't put in any plusses yet, have I? Well there ya go.

Last night I turned off the tv and spent it writing, studying, listening to a sermon, and then reading on the couch. This was interspersed with playing with the cats and simply sitting, letting myself be. I enjoyed the soft hiss of the gas fire, the plop of raindrops on the metal awnings, the crinkle of pages turning, and the sounds of the cat snuffling in their sleep. It was relaxing.

I had resolved last weekend to absorb less media. Since I don't listen to secular music, and I've only been to one movie in the last four years, this means television. I am online a lot but I monitor myself and I visit only good or uplifting sites. I love the internet and I use it heavily for study. Television is another matter...

I don't know how long it will last, me grappling to get control of the evening and the remote control, but I am going to give it the old college try. It's not like it's because I want to be more productive at night after work. I already am. But I guess I want to relax amid a less polluted environment.