Instead of watching moving pictures…
Whether as a resolution for the new year (as here) or simply because, regardless of the date, you want to make of your soul something more than a continual receptacle for the light and sound a television or computer screen emits, here, in a random order, are twenty-five things to do instead of watching TV. This a list I’ve made for myself, but maybe it’ll be fruitfully suggestive to others, too. If so, feel free to say so in the comments, or add your own suggestions!
- Look thoughtfully at some art
- Call your mother
- Listen to music
- Read to anyone who’ll listen
- Play the guitar, banjo, trumpet, violin, etc.
- Recite and memorize poetry
- Write letters to friends new and old or to family
- Sing
- Study a new language
- Read a graphic novel
- Write a story
- On purpose and right now, savor the presence, feel, and taste of one you love
- Read Proust
- Build something
- Sleep
- Study the history of your birthplace
- Fix a meal for someone who needs it
- Get off your ass and move (walk, run, swim, yoga, kettlebells, pull-ups, etc.)
- Draw or paint
- Clean your house
- Talk to someone (in person, video chat, phone)
- Do something with your children
- Read a biography
- Take a bath or shower
- Meditate (however broadly understood)
From my backyard, late summer.
His memories in a trunk 