Stuffing The Stuff
We started watching Andy Griffith last fall with the kids and wound up going through the first two seasons in about 8 weeks. Then, we started in on The Waltons and devoured the first two seasons of that in a little over 10 weeks. Now, we are into the first season of Little House on the Prairie. We just watched the 4th episode.
I have noticed a few things as we have been vegging in front of the tube. First, I enjoy not seeing commercials with my kids. Actually, I notice this more when I try to watch anything on network tv with my kids. I know there are rules as to what can be shown at what time, but whoever makes these rules sure isn’t trying to raise Godly kids. It’s embarrassing.
The second thing noticed is more of a historical observation: people tend to be happier the less things they have. The author of The Waltons is always mentioning how he and his family had nothing growing up, yet they were always happy and really didn’t notice their lack of stuff. I read a report on a news site the other day about how depression is at an all time high in the U.S., yet people are more affluent than ever.
Now, I am not saying a kid living in the street is in paradise, but I do think that the excess stuff of this world chokes out much of life’s joys. The abundance of stuff we have also tend to warp our thinking so that we are pre-occupied with self-gratification. We become self centered creatures who seek more stuff so that we can be entertained.
If you compared my life with that of others in this country, you would say that we live modestly. In fact, some would question our ability to provide even the basics of life with my salary. The reality is we have TONS more stuff than the average family dreamed of even 30 years ago. The biggest thing we have is the ability to access information and entertainment media. And there is an endless supply.
I haven’t yet decided how I am going to respond to these observations, but I feel that there is a change coming. Really, this is an extension of my thought in this post, just a different angle. I guess I just want my kids (and myself) to cherish relationships and people more than entertainment and things. That is very difficult to teach in this day and age. We have already started to cut down on tv and computer time, but I feel like more is needed. Maybe the change needs to take place with me rather than just with the kids. I’ll keep you posted.
Place your comment