Day Eight

Of course, I get the irony that I used a film to describe how it feels to step away from the tube. Which just goes to show you how woven together I and moving pictures have become.

Now let me say that I have in no way completely succeeded in turning off the TV. Not yet. We haven't put it on the road or found a life away from it. I highly doubt that is possible. The minute we enter into talks about not having a television any more we immediately start to discuss the fact that the computer can serve up any TV show we might miss. And just think of the Blue Ray DVD player we could buy with our cable savings!

But, to use a worn out Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step analogy, admitting you have a problem is the first step. A friend of mine recently said, "Now, isn't the second step admitting you are powerless?"

In AA, this second step reads, "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Which, for my family at least, brings God into the equation.

For the record, let me say that we are Catholics, but we also live in Southwest Louisiana, where lent spells lots and lots of good seafood and temperance is waiting until 12:30 to buy your wine on Sunday. We are, by no means, a family that uses restriction as a way to grow closer to the Lord.

And yet I wonder: What would capital H-He have to say about our family's attempt to wean ourselves off of TV? Certainly, like anything else, God doesn't hate television. Just last night, in fact, while flipping aimlessly through my 23 channels (the trip to the decision to just pick up a book is a lot faster than it used to be), I came across the mass being shown on Catholic channel 15 and I actually watched it.

But isn't the television also the at-least-occasional vehicle of so many things that cause people to make choices that might be interpreted as sin? Here are a few, in my humble opinion:
Ego
Greed
Envy
Lust
Laziness
Want
Hurry

Now, if you'll excuse me, I will go turn off the "Care Bears Movie," light me a candle, say a little prayer and look at the blessings around me.