Bye bye television…
I finally got the gumption to call and cancel our satellite tv subscription. We’ve been watching less and less (and tend to watch videos over programmed tv), so it felt like the time was right. It feels somewhat strange, having a sense of loss over something like tv. Yesterday I was thinking about how we went from being just liberal individuals 10 years ago to people who seem to be on the radical side of the tracks. Or maybe it’s not so radical, since the time I spent watching tv may have been transferred to spending time at the computer.
But maybe dropping the tv is just another way of becoming more of an observer of popular culture than a participant. I wonder about all the people who seem to actually care about ‘celebrities,’ with all the tabloids, magazines, tv shows and websites devoted to lives of people who frankly don’t amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. I see billboard and posters for iPods, cars and clothes and they just seem like ruses to part people with their money in exchange for temporarily making people feel good about themselves. Admittedly, we own an iPod, which I received as a surprise gift - it actually is well-conceived item, but I don’t feel any different for owning it. Perhaps it’s just a mid-life crisis. I can’t say I feel stressed about life, but I do spend more time thinking about what really matters and how that relates to my children.
We’ve taken a number of mostly logical and/or intuitive steps to where we are today - from natural birthing, breastfeeding and cosleeping to curbing consumer-oriented tendencies, thinking more about what we eat and avidly learning about sustainability. What’s next? Living completely off the grid? That is tempting, but there are still the logistics of earning money and so forth. Still, I find life way more interesting than I did 10 years ago. There seem to be more positive possibilities. Having kids and seeing their curiosity and enthusiasm seems to have revived my own, which had been dulled out of me by schooling. Here’s to doing more than watching it all go by.
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I found your blog through the “Good Blogs” and I’m finding your posts so thought-provoking. Having children does encourage you to examine your life like nothing else can. I’ve changed a lot since having kids and I definitely feel more “radical.” I agree with you about celebrities, but I can’t say I agree with your views on consumer-oriented tendencies. I feel part of the meaning of life is to live a full, happy, satisfying existence. If an iPod, or any product, gives me enjoyment, then I think it’s a good thing. It puzzles me why some people equate possessions (that can give pleasure) with a life devoid of “meaning.”
I could have expressed myself more lucidly before - I don’t have a problem with possessions in general, but possessions as a basis of identity is something else. I used to read GQ, Details and the like when I was younger and, in retrospect, trying to present myself to the world. Now being more comfortable with myself, I don’t care about who’s wearing what, who makes the clothes and so forth. But I’m still picky as hell when it comes to clothes, and I can pretty much guarantee that I’d never buy a pair of pants from Kmart or Sears. At the same time I won’t be buying any way overpriced designer stuff either in favor of something that is flattering, comfortable and leaves me enough change to pay for some home improvement
I suppose it’s part of the choices these days and I think the most significant thing has been turning off the wanting or the response to advertising. It’s been long enough that I feel inured to it. However, I do appreciate good aesthetics - my next laptop is not going to be like the ugly ‘this is the best bang for the buck’ (cough*uglydell*cough) laptop I have now. And one of my great hopes is to design and build a modern and thoroughly green house. We need to make a trip to Fallingwater to do some hands-on research.
I don’t think possessions in and of themselves take away the meaning from life. I think it’s more that *certain kinds* of possessions distract us from more meaningful pursuits, or from making our own meaning. For instance, we’ve been trying to reduce the amount of toys that we have that *do things*, like electronic things that make noise and music and spin around. I think that many of the plastic, spinning, noise-making toys don’t encourage creativity. Those sorts of toys encourage a child to sit back and watch, rather than figure out.
Also, there was recently a discussion in our local Attachment Parenting International group about the idea of limiting the number of toys that your kids have access to at any one time. The idea is that when they are in a room full of toys, they are overstimulated and just run back and forth between them all. When they have just one or two available, they spend more quality time with an item, figuring out multiple things to do with it.
Another idea that I’ve believed for awhile is that boredom is good for kids. It’s true that if they have a lot of possessions (like a million toys and video games, etc.), they might have any number of things to run to when they have a moment of boredom. But there is something to be said for being able to entertain yourself when you are bored, to be forced to come up with something to do. A little boredom can also teach you to enjoy and appreciate the quiet times, instead of feeling forced to pursue one activity after another.
Believe me, we have plenty of toys and possessions, and love many of them. I think it’s just that we are re-thinking which ones are truly important to us, which ones will really complement the kind of life we want to live.
[...] Tiny Grass [...]
I’ve always believed in the saying “simplicity is beauty.” I remember telling my husband this 16 years ago, when he proposed to me, that I just wanted to live a simple life. Thankfully, he and I were on the same page then and still are! We have been living as simply as possible all these years, and while it is sometimes difficult “fitting in” with our neighbors and/or colleagues who don’t necessarily share our same beliefs or principles, it is important to us to be who we are. I think that people will find themselves very unhappy if they constantly try to keep up with the Joneses, instead of being thankful for whatever blessings they do have.
Regarding satellite TV, our family has been cable-free for nearly two years now, and we don’t even miss it one bit!
I don’t miss it all that much either. I dunno if there’s been a new episode of ‘The Office,’ but since I can get it off iTunes, it almost doesn’t matter when it airs. In any case, the documentaries I really enjoy aren’t that hard to find.
It’s been kinda cool without the option of mindless tv. I’ve made a conscious effort to read more, which works well the love of learning that’s resurfaced in the past year. And the stuff I’ve been reading (The Omnivore’s Dilemma & Dumbing Us Down for myself, The Swiss Family Robinson for M) have been truly inspiring.