A resolution-ary thought for 2015!!

Last year the Pittsburgh Catholic ran an excellent article about resolutions for the New Year.  I didn’t read it until a week or so after it ran, and I felt that it was too late then to share.  However, it was so good that I clipped it out and kept it to share for this year.  Its words must be something someone who is reading this is supposed to hear because I actually found the article!  I didn’t lose it; I remembered that I wanted to share it with you; and the week that I remembered it is the week for our New Year’s bulletin ie:  the timing is PERFECT!

Isn’t that just how God works?!!

Here it is: 

     "A new year always brings the opportunity for a fresh start.  Resolutions can be a tricky thing because they force us to consider altering long-held behavior patterns, and then make an affirmative choice for the change in behavior when the situation presents itself.  Take TV watching.  It could be ripe for a change in behavior because Americans have the TV on so much every day.  That allows for many chances to make those affirmative choices, instead of surrendering to the status quo.
     "Here are a few suggestions on making more affirmative choices in your television diet.  First, watch less TV.  When NBS coined the phrase ‘must –see TV’ to describe its powerhouse Thursday prime-time lineup of a generation ago, it didn’t meant that all of us must see TV regardless of what’s on!  Instead, think of the term ‘appointment television.’  Just as you would with meals, put some advance thought about what it is you want to watch before you turn on the TV.  Don’t be content with just watching the next show that comes on, and the show after that, and so on.
         "(Second)If you watch TV, then resolve to watch TV.  Avoid multitasking with the tube on.  If you’re going to presumably view the collective effort of hundreds of people working on both sides of the camera, you don’t really want to be playing solitaire on your smartphone, do you?  That lessens he experience for you, and shortchanges the people on the creative end.
       "(Third)  If you have children in your home, don’t let them watch TV unattended.  Watch with them.  Make TV watching a reward, rather than a diversion that allows t you to do ‘more important things.’  In truth, time spent helping form children’s attitudes and consciences is the best time spent of all.
       "Finally, be a critique of TV.  That’s different from being a criticizer.  While there is much about television to criticize, you have to develop the abilitiy to think critically about what you’ve viewed, and judge whether you as a viewer are being manipulated in ways you like or don’t like, ranging from the latest e[isode of a hit series to the local news.  With as many channels as there are today, you can certainly shop the television-programming marketplace to find shows that better appeal to your values and sensibilities, if you take the time to seek them out."
(‘Resolve to be a better television watcher’ by Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service.  Pittsburgh Catholic, Friday, January 10, 2014, p 7)

I couldn't have expressed it better myself!  Happy 2015!!