JS3 Presents: Media Deprived Day One

Life is full of challenges. Whether it is something as basic as brushing our teeth or something more involved like a major school/work project, we are constantly asked by life to persevere for the good of our being. During the first day of my media deprivation project, I learned that challenges are only worthy and accomplished based on the meaning we give them. I learned this only after going through inner-conflicts, a psychological change, and finally by justifying the means with the end result. I would say the message first sunk in at the sound of, well, the sound of silence.

When I awoke this morning it was to white screens and an endless hall, where the silence echoed so loudly it was deafening. At the breakfast table, the reality of this media apocalypse incarnate sank in. As my son and I ate breakfast, the television still played in the background, but it was morning cartoons instead of news. The trip to his daycare that followed seemed a bit longer without any music to accompany us. Fortunately, I managed through these media-less parental duties with relative ease, but the real test was yet to come.

The most difficult part of my first media deprivation day was my workout routine. On Fridays, I go running for two hours and usually have my iPod to distract my mind, however this Friday that would not be an option. I went through my stretch praying that I would find the power within myself to complete the run without giving into temptation to press that play button. Throughout the run, my mind would drift towards considering playing music but I remained focused on my ultimate goal. Rather than focusing on the media, I gave meaning to my environment and focused on the beauty of nature, the wonderfulness of seeing the first snow flurries of the year, and the amazement at how many people were not wearing jackets or sweaters! Before I knew it, the run was over and I was back instead in the warmth of my home. It felt odd but enlightening to realize that warmth was not coming from a television or laptop but from the energy that was now pulsating through my body.

For the remainder of my day, I observed my son and how media has impacted his life. He could still go about watching his educational shows, playing with his little computer laptop, and free to dance around to the music blaring from his small radio. I wondered if maybe he was growing up too submersed in technology and, if so, was I to blame? However, this evening he did not turn on the TV, ask for his laptop, or turn on his radio. Instead, he brought me his favorite book, some colors, and his favorite toys as if he knew I was on a mission. You may call it coincidence, but I truly feel he could sense my confident, strong state of mind and was feeding off that to become more in tune with me.

Looking back on my day, it was exactly as difficult as I thought it would be, and though it did not play out how I thought it would, I still was able to reach my expected goal of being successful. I was successful because I did not waste any energy focusing on failing or the subconscious “grasp” television, internet, radio, and media in general may have on me. I gave this project the meaning of self-understanding and was able to learn from every experience because of that frame of mind. You see, we always accomplish the things in life we feel we really need to finish, be it a massive project or something as simple as brushing our teeth.