Knoware House

Last year, I threw my TV out. Well, I didn’t literally throw it out. However, I did cancel cable and removed the television from the main areas of my home. That means no access to TV in the living room, dining area, or kitchen. I live in New York City in a tiny condominium. Therefore, when I say I removed the TV from my living room, dining area and kitchen, I’m talking only about one small TV.

For the first week or so, my daughter and I sat on the sofa and watched the space where the TV used to be. Then we got the idea that we could talk to each other while watching the space where the TV used to be. I’m not sure how it happened, but one day we sat on the sofa and started looking at each other (instead of at the space where the TV used to be) while we talked.

Even now, when friends or relatives come over to visit, after the initial greetings, someone always looks at the space where the TV use to be, gasps, and asks, “What happened to your TV?” My mother wondered if I was having financial difficulties that forced me to sell the TV.

I try to explain that I just did not want TV anymore. I have a reputation for being someone who goes against the norm, so most people see it as “just one of her things” or “a phase” that I will grow out of eventually. In the end, we talk to one another as we watch the space where the TV used to be. (I’m looking for a plant to put in that space.)

I do have a TV in my bedroom, which I use only for watching DVDs and videos. I have come to love living without TV. There is calmness in my home. There is an “I’m on vacation” feel. I feel more peaceful. I get a lot more done each day. I recently rediscovered my joy in writing. I sew. I read. I make stuff and call it art.

Eating a meal at home without TV felt lonely at first. I had come to think of TV as what you did when you ate. I had convinced myself that if I were eating while I was watching TV, then I was not just wasting time watching TV. Even if I was not watching it, I felt comfortable hearing TV sounds in the background. I grew up in one of those households where the TV was always on. During holiday meals, the TV was loud. However, the idea of turning the TV volume down never occurred to any of us, so we just talked louder.

Eating without TV has become a wonderful and healthy experience for me. I find that I eat less and am more concerned about what I’m eating. Many times, with TV, I would not even remember eating, but the food would be gone. It was like when you drive somewhere in your car and realize when you arrive that you have no recollection of any of the intersections, buildings and parks you know you passed to get there. I take time to enjoy my food now.

I did not watch much TV before. I watched an average of two no three maybe four hours a day I think. That’s the trouble with TV. The hours creep by unnoticed. One becomes hypnotized. I was becoming addicted to TV court shows. I was intrigued by the predicaments some people get themselves into. Often I would think to myself, “There, but for the grace of god, go I.” I did learn from those shows to get every money transaction in writing especially from your relatives.

I learned many years ago not to watch the news. As a person who suffered from depression for many years, I learned that watching the news did not agree with me especially just before going to bed. Those news stories stay with you in your subconscious. Let’s face it: Except for a warm and fuzzy human-interest story now and then, the news is not good. The old saying, “No news is good news” is true.

Once people find out I no longer have TV, they are eager to report the news to me and tell me what I missed on all of their favorite TV shows. “You didn’t see it?” “You didn’t hear about the little boy that found an alligator in his room?” I feel that if there is something I need to know, I’ll find out somehow.

I do not know what the security alert color is now, and that suits me just fine. I have prepared my family and myself the best I can for an emergency. I figure if I ever see people running en masse in a certain direction, I will just join in and run, too. Meanwhile, I don’t worry about it daily. I do check certain sites online for news about health products and changes in any laws that might affect me.

For a wonderful, healthy and pleasurable experience, I challenge you and your family to take a TV fast. TV addiction is real, and many people have difficulty breaking the TV habit. Your eyes, your brain, your ears, and your whole body will thank you. Take back your mind and your life. Deprogram!

Wambui Bahati (Miss Inspiration) is a professional speaker, entertainer, and Emotional Freedom Techniques practitioner. Her fun filled, inspiring presentations draw on her diverse background and challenging adversities that she miraculously overcame. Her mission: “To remind you of your magnificence.” Book Wambui for your next event at http://www.wambui.com

A Tribute to Goodness … and those friends I have met on the
street, who gave to me the gifts of fairness and compassion,
adventure and lust.

By Punkerslut

It is a crime, I confess, on the books of our government to
take another’s property without consent. It is this that is
called stealing. But it was just this that I did. One store or
another, I would walk in, and obtain property, without the
consent of the owner. I stole food, and I gave it to those who
could not afford it. I gave it to men who looked more ragged
than any Hollywood movie could envision, and I gave them a
little more than just food to fill their stomachs. I gave them
the promise that there is forever at least one Humanitarian in
every generation, a hope that life one day will not be one of
poverty, a desire to be free and live life well. I am a thief,
and I have stolen that the poor, hungry masses might not starve.
In the eyes of the state, I am a merciless criminal. I vow to
forever battle the peoples’ hunger of food as much as I vow to
battle for their hunger of liberty. As long as the shimmering
star of life continues to burn in the heavens, there will always
be a revolutionary there to resist the brutality of the state’s
iniquity. And as long as there as we can see more than just
green when we see a forest, as long as we can see more than just
white when we see a cloud, as long as we can see more than just
blue when we see the ocean, as long as our souls are not deaf to
beauty’s inspiration and depth, and as long as our minds are not
dormant to the possibilities of hope, we will forever be one
marching mass, constantly reaching and clawing, diving deeper in
creativity and love, learning more and more by reading the books
of experience, and as long as we march on past the blistering
winds with our companions, we will enjoy a type of freedom that
comes with integrity, and we will have a type of hope that
renders results. To this degree of existance and meaning, I can
only say this: there are few things I would rather be a part of.

www.punkerslut.com

For Life, Punkerslut

How many times have you “committed” yourself to “firm” goals at the beginning of a year and then not achieved them by year’s end? In the fast-paced world in which we all live, consistently finding the time to devote to improving our personal skills for a better future may be one of our greatest challenges. However, take heart; there are ways to regain control of your time and optimism for a better future. Empower yourself to achieve the goals that have eluded you in the past. Following are 10 tips to becoming more time efficient and goal oriented.

1. Establish a life plan or mission statement. What do you want to accomplish over your lifetime? Prioritize your most important goals with an explicit time period for completion such as 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Develop a strategy to measure the incremental milestones along the path to achieving your overall goals so that you can measure your progress over time.

2. Consider career, family and personal growth goals. Expand your horizon. How many times all of us thought about someday pursuing our personal interests such as taking up a new hobby, learning a second language, reading the “classics,” or becoming healthier? What about traveling to that special place, hiking that mystical trail, learning to scuba dive, or sailing to the exotic destination that exists in our mind. Make sure that these goals get as much consideration as the more “sensible” ones such as career advancement, time management, or financial goals. Remember, “Someday” never comes, only the goals that are explicitly defined, with reasonable and honest time frames and a firm commitment are ever achieved.

3. Structure your important work hours with a time management system. Make sure to reserve time to manage our daily “emergencies” and block out time to complete necessary tasks like phone calls, email, meetings, marketing, unplanned interruptions, and administrative duties. To consistently find time to exercise, it MUST appear on your daily planner.

4. Plan your week ahead of time. Use either Friday afternoon orMonday morning to plan the week to come. At the end of the week, look to see what was not accomplished and list it in the following week’s to do list. If you consistently find many items not completed, reconsider how reasonable your planning has been and make changes.

5. Make a daily to do list. List out the items that need to be done and prioritize the importance of each one.

6. Manage interruptions. Keep track for one work week how many interruptions you experience, how long each one takes to resolve and whether they were external or actually self-imposed. You may be surprised at how much time, energy and money interruptions can cost you.

7. Review your schedule and goals daily. After taking the time to plan your week and list your goals, DO NOT file them away outside of eyesight and hope that everything will get accomplished. Keep these items in a place of easy access and review them frequently.

8. Make goals measurable. You must be able to measure progress towards your goals to sustain your motivation. After clearly defining your personal goals, being able to incrementally measure your progress is the most important component in lifestyle change. How will you know if you are on the right track to achieving your goals? You must break large goals into several measurable components so you can see your success and stay motivated in your efforts.

9. Get a buddy to help with accountability. Often describing to another person what we are working on and why its important to us can help us with support and accountability towards reaching our goals.

10. Have goals and tasks that are achievable. Make sure that the tasks and goals that you set out to accomplish are attainable; don’t set yourself up for failure.

It takes time and energy up front to become more time efficient and goal oriented, but you can create more time in your life and increase the chances of reaching your goals and full potential in life.