I am a big fan of fiction and of television. I can honestly say that I have spent thousands of hours watching television and reading fiction, but what has that done for me? Have those habits given me anything besides entertainment in exchange for a huge portion of my life?
A relatively recent invention has replaced the VCR and made the television experience much more convenient for the consumer. This invention is the digital video recorder (DVR)and it takes most of the effort out of recording your favorite shows. For the most part all you need to do is find a program code and enter it into your DVR and it will find and record your programs. No more rushing home to make sure you catch American Idol, or whatever, you can relax, it's TiVo'd.
But with many of the shows on television it doesn't matter exactly when you watch them, it's just having them at your beck and call, so they can end up piling up. Before you know it, you have hundreds of hours waiting for you. Worse yet, they are all of your favorite shows, so what are you going to do? You can delete them or have marathon weekend events catching up on everything under the sun. Glued to your set and ignoring the beautiful days and friends and events that are live and in real 3D. No special glasses needed, we are all in 3D out here in the real world.
So there people are, sitting in front of their televisions watching shows about make believe people in make believe relationships while their real relationships and friends are slowly fading away. Is this the sort of world that we live in? Maybe the more important question is, is this the sort of world that you choose live in?
I am all in favor of some fiction as escapism, but lives are suffering for this. Communication between spouses or families gets put on the back burner while we see what the Kardashians are up to. (And let me assure you, that show is also fiction. If you think they've always acted like that, you are wrong. So much script and so much invented drama all in the name of ratings.)
Have respect for yourself and those around you and those who you impact. You are unique and have so much to offer, and yet you (and I) waste time on fiction while life moves on without us. Let's change that starting today.
