TV and stuff

I like TV a lot. Not so much the turn-on-the-boob-tube-and-sit-through-commercials kind of TV, but the pull DVDs off the shelf, be they movies or TV shows, and enjoy them for as long or short a time as I want. :) Me and Jason had an awesome, unprecedented marathon of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" this weekend, as he wasn't feeling good and I was exhausted and we both needed the rest. We watched literally half of the series (the second half) in 2 days. It was amazing. I loved watching the characters grow and witness the obvious but intriguing battle for good over evil. I've really enjoyed discussing these things with Jason since we finished.

But at the same time as I love movies and TV, I feel God telling me right now to make sure I do not idolize fantasy worlds (in general; not the fantasy genre specifically), not to wish I was in another world, and not to waste my precious time on this earth in front of the TV all the time. Of course, Jason and I love movies and love sharing in imagined worlds with one another through TV, and that doesn't have to stop. But I feel God warning me lately not to get too wrapped up in these worlds, so wrapped up that I forget who I am, where I am, and my responsibilities here.

I can be "impressionable". When I relate to characters (and real people as well), I tend to take on certain character traits and people, both real and imaginary, can heavily influence who I am. I must be careful to ensure that it is Christ alone in whom my identity rests, and to guard what influences may enter my mind. Always easier said than done.

Sometimes this world feels "boring". It's the same thing over and over. Get up, go to work, come home and do what needs to be done, sleep, and do it again. Obviously there are fun times but ... my heart longs for adventure. It was created for adventure. Which is why imaginary worlds are so intriguing, so enticing... worlds where we can fly, bend elements, where creatures exist we never thought of, where "magic" exists, etc. And at the same time these worlds are simpler, even more innocent, as the battle between good and evil is usually much clearer and defined. Here, the lines often seem blurred, the adventure of fighting for what is good lost in the mundane responsibilities of life. Of course, that's what makes our world real and others not. But still, stories excite the imagination, and even uplift the spirit to fight through the mundane in extraordinary ways.

Sometimes I really want to just set up a simpler life somewhere else anyway.