"Kill Your Television"

This bumper sticker graced my car back in the early 90's thanks to Ned's Atomic Dustbin. One of the most chaotic concerts I've ever been to in my life, by the way, but this has nothing to do with anything I'm writing about.

I didn't exactly kill my television, but I did sell it when I moved to San Diego. Aesthetically it wasn't working with the layout of this 1920's house, but more importantly, it was no longer working with the arrangement of my soul. In LA, the only time the TV would be on was when my roommate was home. He's the type who likes the noise in the background, even when he sleeps. If he wasn't around for a week, the tv wouldn't be on for a week.

I have not missed its presence even once.

I love to read and find there's even more time than ever to read now. I am able to stay informed with precisely what I am looking to expand my mind with via the internet (with a few distractions, of course…but not enough to have any major impact on my time or my life). I have found the time to donate to good causes and keep up on my correspondence, two things that help to keep me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

I find that I feel better, physically and mentally, from not having the news shoved in my face 24-7 as well. Some may call it selfish to not want to 'know' everything that's going on in the world, I call it self-preservation. Too much of that negativity and terror and doom is enough to do the same to you, from the inside out. Not to mention the freedom from advertising. What's the latest greatest product that I just have to buy? I have no idea. And I seem to be surviving just fine without it. Let's not be mistaken, I've not locked myself in some log cabin without any contact with the modern world…and I still am a technology junkie, but it's not being crammed down my throat with manipulative copy and catchy-get-stuck-in-your-head-for-days-on-end jingles. What's funny, even with my love for technological gadgetry, I took a step back in time the other day to about 1953 when I wrote on my list of things to buy: "clothes pins".

I have the convenience of a dryer here, but have opted to use the clothesline more often than not. I actually find a sense of peace and joy and contemplation in it. Hanging the clothes up, enjoying the beautiful weather as I do so, appreciating the fact that I live somewhere that the weather is pretty incredible most of the year. Appreciating all the things I see while I'm outside, the lizards that run past me into the canyon, the wild flowers that are blooming quite wildly, for lack of a better word, the hummingbirds who never cease to amaze me with their astounding ability to hover in one place and then speed right past me like a kamikaze. All of this is missed when you're sticking your head into dryer to pull out your dried and shrunken clothes. My grandmother had a dryer for as long as I can remember, and for as long as I can remember, she hung the whole family's clothes out to dry. She was green before her time. She is one woman who certainly appreciated the earth and its gifts, as she could grow an oak tree out of a twig in like a week. Her garden was the most magical place when I was a kid. Roses that would bloom as big as my head, apple trees that yielded the most delicious apples I've ever eaten, even to this day. Don't even get me started on the tomatoes.

Ever since my trip to Peru, my life has slowly been shifting into a much more simple plan. Even the short time that I lived without electricity and hot water (or windows and door locks for that matter) was such an awakening, it's just such a shame that we get conditioned so deeply that it is such a slow process to break yourself of it. But, a positive one nonetheless. I had purged so much stuff that I just didn't need when I got back, and this became a ritual, almost weekly, more and more things got packed up and donated to the Goodwill. I couldn't tell you one thing right now that I miss, I barely even remember what I've donated. It's the most liberating feeling in the world. When I moved to San Diego, box upon box of my eight years in LA began to make their way to donation centers. In the four months that I have been here, I have made 3 trips to the Salvation Army and one to my friend's parents - who go to Mexico weekly to donate our castoffs to the needy. I hope to get to a point where I feel I have nothing 'extra' in my life, nothing that isn't useful, so I don't feel tied down to any 'thing', to be free enough to go and actually do great things, instead of just talking about them. It's funny how easy it is for some to wax poetic about how to live life with a bunch of quotes borrowed from a fortune cookie or their Yogi Tea teabag , but unless you're actually practicing it, it's just a bunch of empty words.

The last time I set a bigger intention to do something, it was regarding teacher training for Bikram Yoga, just a few months later, I looked back at my words in almost disbelief as I wrote my first blog from Hawaii. A life changing experience that I continue to cherish. This time, I'm going to talk about joining the ranks of those who are volunteering their time and energy in places of the world where unspeakable lack exists - and for no good reason. There is really no excuse not to do more. Look out, a few months from now, maybe I'll be writing a blog from a village in Africa, where I'm guessing I probably won't be watching TV.