Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Shhhh...

I've been a TV lover ever since we got cable when I was in elementary school. The Disney Channel was my life blood...well, considering I was 9 that makes sense. I loved all the old black and white episodes of The Mickey Mouse Club, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Zorro...all of them.



And ever since E.T., movies have been such a pleasant little escape. I've always been a connoisseur of visual entertainment.

In college, my roommate and I actually planned our classes around General Hospital, and I loved watching Conan late in the evening. Not much has changed over the years. Movies and TV have continually been one of my biggest forms of entertainment.



Which makes it strange that I'm finding myself shying away from all of that lately. That's weird for me.

My DVR is set to record everything from American Idol to Project Runway, but I find that I'm getting bored with the formats and formulas behind all of those shows. I noticed that I end up deleting most of what I record and I often don't even finish something that I am watching. Movies don't WOW me much anymore, either, other than the occasional surprise.

Until recently, I was wondering why, but then I figured out the connection. Running! Ever since I started running, I have come to the realization that I prefer quiet in my life. Maybe it's because I used to use TV to distract me from the stress I was feeling because I had no other outlet. I don't know. But that's the only connection I've been able to make.

Also, when things are quieter and I take the time to shush my soul (which isn't easy, by the way), I feel like I can hear God more in the little things and the tiny moments. That's an awesome thing. My life was so full of noise that I wasn't hearing anything in particular.

That's not to say that I don't have the occasional evening of popcorn and a crime expose' or Conan (still love him), or a Netflix movie before bed, but my enjoyment of TV has become less of a love relationship and more of an acquaintance I happen to see occasionally.

So I'll keep running, and I'll keep you posted. Changes are taking place! Through the times that God was teaching me to be grateful for everything and to acknowledge His work in my life, I felt like he was cleaning out my insides. Now I'm taking control of my outsides and it feels good. The inside and the outside are coming closer to matching than they ever have.

A side note: I have also fallen in love with my new calf muscles. Another perk of running.

Do you run? Are you crafty? Are you musical? What do you do to relieve stress?


(I took the photo below just before I went out running in the snow. See how much running has changed me??? Not long ago, I hated all running and avoided it at all costs. Now I enjoy it so much that I'm willing to run in the cold. And I hate cold...but it's perfect for running!)

1 comment:

  1. I only run is someone is holding a handgun.

    However, I do enjoy hiking & biking. Such is life.

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