I went for a run this morning.
The blue sky was dotted playfully with wispy clouds, as a fair breeze blew across my face. It felt great to be out on the road with the sound of crunching gravel beneath my feet, as I playfully dodged piles of horse poop scattered before me. As beads of sweat formed on my forehead, I began to think about a copy of Men's Health Magazine that came in the mail the other day. I wouldn't normally order this magazine but it was part of an offer that I took advantage of one sordid evening a couple of months back.
Some of you may remember a couple of blogs ago, I wrote about our housesitting experience at Erin and Ryan's. I talked about having a love affair with their shower and being blissed out by ice cubes. Well, other elicit activities took place while we stayed at the magical house. Every night after Bodhi went to sleep we would turn the lights down, get cozy on the sofa, and stare at this black rectangle box called a TV. We couldn't resist.
One night while caressing the remote, we came across a Kevin Trudeau infomercial, he was selling a book about how to get free money. Wow, free money! Who doesn't want free money? In a hypnotic trance, I dialed the 1-800 number and ordered the book. As part of the sale they were offering magazine subscription trials. If you tried a magazine, free for 60 days, you could get all of these gift certificates for places like Home Depot. WOOHOO! Free money--sign me up. So about six weeks later, a copy of Men's Health Magazine arrived at my PO Box.
Kim and I watch TV like we drink alcohol. We don't do it very often and when we do, we try to enjoy it as much as we can without feeling guilty. And where we may let Bodhi try a sip of wine or beer, he'll never get a full glass. And so it goes with the TV as well. Bodhi goes to a beautiful school that works really hard to keep the children free from media. I actually saw one of his teachers flinch ever so slightly when one of the kids in the class mentioned--Spongebob. It was as if the kid said, "Hey eff you lady." It was kind of funny at the time, but I really see the importance of what they are doing at the school. They are holding that space of innocence for our child during a time when his imagination is starting to bloom. It's a beautiful thing to have your child's creativity fostered in this way and not bombarded by the tremendous over-stimuli that comes pumping out of the TV. We've heard the comment that Bodhi goes to a hippie school, and yes it is a bit that way, but we like it like that. I think it is better, at four, that Bodhi is in a touchy-feely school environment, rather than knowing the latest antics of Spongebob.
For a really good discourse on the state of TV in the 1950s and the present day, see pioneer television journalist, Edward Murrow's speech in the amazing 2005 George Clooney film, Good Night and Good Luck. Check it out on Youtube--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfwsfGqgPM
Anyway, speaking of media, the Men's Health Magazine was floating in my head this morning during my run. It's been about ten years since I last picked up an issue and it certainly has changed. It used to have articles about work out routines, diet regimes, or fitness product reviews. But this issue, that I contemplated on my run, was just full of sex advice. I'm not a prude about sex, maybe on an unconscious level, that is why it was playing on my mind. But what was really sticking out for me was an article that they had on different levels of fitness at different times in one's life. The article was saying that for men that are 40+ like me, it's most important to focus on flexibility and strength. Wow! There's something to meditate on--flexibility and strength.
I think about being the bull with the tenacity to push forward towards one's goals combined with the willingness of the butterfly to trust the winds of life to take it where it needs to be. Balance seems to be the key here. Balance with everything, even the TV.
I leave you with another gem from Bodhi--So a few mornings ago as Bodhi is using the sawdust toilet, he turns to me and asks, "Dad, how come our toilet is outside? I want a bathroom inside the house."--Flexibility and strength.
And so it is.
