strawberry truck, Highway 1, Half Moon Bay, CA Canon Rebel Xti

I’d like to invite you to join me in a little experiment.

For the next week I am going on a media diet. From now until Sunday, March 23rd I am hanging some pretty fabric over my television and I’m not going to watch any shows or see any movies. (The true test will be on thursday night during Lost!) I am also cutting myself off from my usual habit of obsessive email checking and mindless meandering throughout the web.

The problem is not tv, or movies or the web. There is a lot to enjoy in all of these media. There is a lot of great entertainment and gorgeous works of art. I will not tell you to kill your television. (Although more power to you if you do)

What brought this on? you are probably wondering. Mostly, it is because I feel overwhelmed. I’ve noticed that my mind is cluttered. I feel scattered. I feel a bit low. I feel exhausted. I have defaulted to tv and the internet for the easy fix. But my sense is that it is costing me something too.

Like I said, this is an experiment. I am looking forward to seeing what shifts for me in simply having a consciousness around these habits. I am not necessarily looking to change them permanently, only to see what shows up in the space where those things were. Will there be more music? books? Will we play board games? write love letters? take more walks?

Who’s in with me? We can all report back next Monday.