It is hard to experience December 25 and its National Gift Giving Day (which I keep separate in my mind from the spiritual celebration of Christmas) without feeling that our culture is both addictive and toxic. And it is when we let our addictive/toxic culture supplant our spiritual values that we end up wandering around as what Buddhists refer to as hungry ghosts. Television is the needle most of us use to inject ourselves with dangerous obsessions.
Television is more addictive for me than I can tell you. Anyone who channel surfs will know what I am talking about. Channel after channel after channel is filled with people who shout at us with reminders that we are not ok just the way we are. Women need larger breasts and better makeup to look younger. Men need hair pieces and sexual stimulants. And we all need more household appliances. Television tells us that we need more and different. It tells us how to make more money so that we can acquire more things to make us hungrier for more things that won’t satisfy our hunger.
And the programming is even worse. It is a constant deluge of nonsense, vanity, sex and violence. And it isn’t just television. Everywhere we turn, every aspect of our life is invited into an opium den of self destruction…whether from unhealthy diet, or the ways we waste our time, or the things we pay attention to.
Trying to just be human is a daunting task, but it may be our only hope. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to deal with this tsunami of addictions is to take small steps to unplug.
It means that I have to stop drinking in the things I am addicted to in our culture and start having support group meetings with other folks who want to kick their habits.
I just cancelled my cable TV service. It is a small step, but an import one. I plan to examine all of the facets of my life to see what I am plugged into that won’t let me go. I am also going to draw together a small group of friends who together can find ways to survive both physically and spiritually.
AA is right. If you want to recover from your addiction, go to meetings and don’t drink.
Television is more addictive for me than I can tell you. Anyone who channel surfs will know what I am talking about. Channel after channel after channel is filled with people who shout at us with reminders that we are not ok just the way we are. Women need larger breasts and better makeup to look younger. Men need hair pieces and sexual stimulants. And we all need more household appliances. Television tells us that we need more and different. It tells us how to make more money so that we can acquire more things to make us hungrier for more things that won’t satisfy our hunger.
And the programming is even worse. It is a constant deluge of nonsense, vanity, sex and violence. And it isn’t just television. Everywhere we turn, every aspect of our life is invited into an opium den of self destruction…whether from unhealthy diet, or the ways we waste our time, or the things we pay attention to.
Trying to just be human is a daunting task, but it may be our only hope. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to deal with this tsunami of addictions is to take small steps to unplug.
It means that I have to stop drinking in the things I am addicted to in our culture and start having support group meetings with other folks who want to kick their habits.
I just cancelled my cable TV service. It is a small step, but an import one. I plan to examine all of the facets of my life to see what I am plugged into that won’t let me go. I am also going to draw together a small group of friends who together can find ways to survive both physically and spiritually.
AA is right. If you want to recover from your addiction, go to meetings and don’t drink.
posted by Interfaith Paths to Peace at 12:28 PM
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