In January of 2017, my wife and I decided to pull the plug on cable TV. Rising cable provider prices, “57 channels and nothin’ on”, consumerism, and negative media stories are just a few of the reasons. But, simply put, the boob tube had just become a distraction in our lives and an inlet for unsolicited messages that served no real life purpose or meaning for us. While our family really never watched a lot of TV, the biggest personal challenge for me was giving up all the sports channels and to give them up in the middle of winter, what was I thinking?
Don’t get me wrong, the TV can be a resourceful source of information and news, but often it can be calculated and bias to get a one-sided opinion or message across without room for any thought-provoking discussion. Since unplugging from the TV, and realizing that I was just watching sports to watch sports, I’ve started to reach deeper into exploring my mind and discovering other outlets, such as hiking, in search of my personal path to tranquility. Trust me, it was not easy to turn off the TV, and it didn’t happen overnight.
As I seek to unlearn what I’ve learned, turning off the TV has allowed me the time that I so much needed to escape who I had become. The process of finding myself is going to be a long expedition, but removing the mindless programming on the TV has freed me from this venomous addiction. Now when I’m not hiking, I spend more time reading, listening to music, visioning, meditating, writing, and learning how to be more unconditionally social. You don’t need to watch life happen on TV when there’s a story already running in your head, so go live it!
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| Visioning – Sedona, AZ West Fork Trail |
Ironic how the universe works, as I was waiting for my lovely wife and editor to review my article, this story magically appeared. For a great short read check out; http://www.becomingminimalist.com/ten-reasons-to-watch-less-television/
The Purposeful Hiker 