Life is Not a Sitcom

I'm beginning to think that one of my greatest problems in life is that I do not watch much TV. If I did, I would watch circumstances unfold in the lives of the characters and know exactly how to handle them in my own life.

For many years, I did not even have a television in my lake house and that was an anathema to anyone who knew me. "WHAT? You don't HAVE a TV in Vermont? But, WHAT do you do when you're there? Don't you get bored???" I'm not certain what they envisioned when they thought of me here, but my guess is that the central theme consisted of me sitting in front of a blazing fire and staring...at nothing. The concept that I might actually be taking part in life was not something they were grounded in. The word bored is not found in my vocabulary.

Over the past few years TV shows have migrated to the concept of reality TV. What is that? Reality TV? Its almost an oxymoron. Is it real people doing things that we could do but don't so we'd rather watch them? The only thing I consider reality TV is the news and even that is tailored to appeal to the masses. Now I am not saying that I never watch TV. There are one or two shows I will watch if I stumble upon them, but that is akin to the stars aligning in the heavens. I have no idea when they are on, so its a matter of turning on the TV, on the right day, at the exact hour. See? The cosmos at work, but that is truly a rare occurrence.

My reality is that I am not a beneficiary of the simple solutions presented in a half hour program. I will therefore be destined to a life of making mistakes I would have avoided if I had watched episode 56 of the most popular show.

The only thing I can do is go along each day and have faith that the answers are there and I am only to be aware of them. Every set of circumstances that appear in my life create an opportunity to see what I'm made of. The jury is still out on that, but I do know that if I want to fixate on the fictional lives of people that don't exist, I'd rather read a book.

I view life as finite. If I do spend my time glued to a chair in my living room, what will I have to tell whomever is manning the Pearly Gates when I am asked... "What did you do with your life?" Well, I may not have changed the world to any significance, but I will report having seen the most amazing sunrise.