Bejeweling Television

I have a confession. Sometimes my mind just needs a break. Sometimes the inspiration needs some time to find me (read last week's blog here for more on this). Sometimes I just have a need to do activities that really have only one effect and that's to help me tune out. I really wish that weren't so, but right now, it's the way it is so I've decided to embrace it. I'm also learning a lot from it. So I thought by exploring this with you here a bit, there might be some information and/or insights that would help you uncover some truths about you and your journey.

Even though the activities I choose aren't horrible, I still sense a lot of judgment around these activities on my part. I wish I chose things like meditation and yoga. And while these might be my choices at certain times, my current choices are TV & mind-boggling games on my iPhone.  Whew--that feels good to admit! When I have had some downtime lately, THOSE 2 things are what I have chosen. It's really not very like me - I'm certainly NOT a video game person & the last few years, I've been much more picky with my TV choices. But this is what I've noticed and learned from these habits of late:

1) It didn't really help when I resisted doing these things because it always ended up that I did them anyway. So I stopped resisting & told myself this was just where I was right now. I reminded myself that I wasn't going to become a lazy hermit because of this. As a result, the judgment dispersed & I let it be what is was.

2) I've noticed that I have been really tapping into my creative energy lately. I'm not sure which came first - needing to tune out a bit because I have been more creative or being more creative because I have tuned out more. It doesn't matter. Right now, I'm LOVING the creative energy and following this flow.

3) I've noticed a pattern that I have a need for this sometimes before big events. I'm going off on a 3 week trip in a couple of weeks and it feels like I'm preparing myself in some way. I would like to find other ways to prepare myself, but this is the one I know now and I seem to be going with it. So I'll just go with it AND I'll be thinking of other ways that I might like to explore in the future.

We all have ways to 'turn off' and tune out. With awareness, this can be a way that we re-charge our batteries. However, it is important that the awareness is there. Without it, we might choose activities that are destructive OR we might choose them at the expense of other things such as relationships and connections. This can lead to isolation and loneliness.

So there you have it...my confession of the ways I choose to tune out these days. What does this bring up for you? Are there activities that help you 'tune out' that lead then to a re-charged battery? Are there some of these activities that you'd like to do less of or do you have a good balance? I invite you to explore your 'distractions' and see what comes up for you.

Tetris, anyone?

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