Recently I have been staying up late watching shows that are very interesting and very intriguing but not at all anything that I would like to support in real life.
I pine away while these invasions of the mind bombard me with their own dogma and their own sense of superiority.
Life is great. I love life. It makes me smile. At least that's what I thought when I was younger. Riding bikes. Flying kites. Hanging out in Boy Scouts. These were the things that were real to me.
The only time I got involved with comics was when I shoved my friends away and chose instead to stay indoors and wallow in the "deeper truths" of Spider Man, The Punisher, Batman and The X-Men.
But I have gained no life skills for all of that time.
But I didn't know that my time was being eaten. It was a slow and dark habit, but more and more it grew.
And as I became older, I looked back and realized that I had do many missed too many skate adventures with Wes. Too many Boy Scout camp-outs with Ted. Too many band rehearsals with Fletch. Too much girl-chasing with Erin.
I was missing life because I gave it away to the sacrificial alter of others creations that were intended to be a temporary reprieve from my life, not a strangle-hold on my life.
So, from time to time, I unplug things and go on purifications. My latest just started at midnight.
I am taking a religious fast away from fictional materials from August 12th to August 20th.
Some of these items that we are including are, but are not limited to: Television Programming, Cinema, Novels, and Games.
This will be the toughest week of my marriage and there will probably be a lot of cleaning going on... mentally, spiritually and house-wise, but it needs to be done.
My wife, so lovingly supportive, has said that she will go along with this idea, but I know it will be hard on her... and yet...
We believe that were put on this planet for a purpose and the purposes are not being fulfilled if we whittle away our time living in false realities.
Our actual reality is pretty good, mind you. Life happens and moves around us as it does all people, but we must continue to move forward.
If you find yourself moved by my wife and I's actions, then I encourage you to do at least one thing this next week: Unplug your television and take the batteries our of the remote for one week.
ONE WEEK.
You can do it. This next week you may come to realize that you really appreciate World War Two stories, or really come to the grips with the work of Jane Goodall.
You might awaken to new knowledge.
You might LEARN SOMETHING useful.
You might even save your family.
Have fun!
