New Ways

Do you ever stop to think that we spend most of our lives with some kind of audio input?  We are either watching tv or a video...or we have the radio on, are listening to an ipod or talking on the cellphone.  I am experimenting with silence in the car....turning off the radio and either singing or just being quiet.  

Yesterday was my second day of this on my commute to work.  It was an amazing difference.  The world outside my car became brighter...more in focus.   I noticed several interesting things that I would't usually notice.   I saw a man walk around a corner to find his truck covered with several ravens and he waved them off.  I noticed pedestrians on their way to work and thought about them....where they were going and what they might be thinking.   I think it makes me a better driver at the least. 

But, my mind also came up with important internal conversations that I think I usually drown out with electronic stimulus.  I thought about the fine line between supporting/encouraging your loved ones and controlling/expecting something from them. 

Now I just have to find a way to off the tv.   There is very little that I enjoy on tv, yet I watch it daily in the evenings...I think just to create a mindless time of rest after the workday.  There must be a better way to relax.   You will say I should read, which would be great but I need to get buy in from my husband.   Actually, he sometimes opts to read in the evenings and I am the one who doesn't.  I think my long years of tv have made it harder for me to keep my attention on a book.  Maybe I need to learn to crochet....a nice soothing restful task perhaps.