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| Sometimes freedom comes from changing our own seemingly small choices. |
"It just has one scene in it, the rest of the show is okay."
"It's not a big deal."
"We'll just fast forward it."
"Close your eyes."
"I'll just hold up my hand to block the scene and not watch this part."
At some point when I was much younger I made the decision not to watch "R" rated movies (hallelujah). It's been honored so long it's just a habit without thought.
So it's easy to keep doing. I don't watch the trailers and drool over the movie and I don't wrestle with all the justifications of why just this once, it would be okay.
(I wish I could say the same for a lot of other things in my life.)
But along came streaming video with a different rating system which I haven't paid much attention to. I have Amazon Prime on my iPad, while my husband has streaming Netflix on his. Not to mention Hulu, YouTube and Apple TV ~ there is so much to rifle through and watch and they all can be transmitted to the big screen.
Through it all, several shows which I'm sure are the equivalent of "R" have made it into our home. Not the movies, but the TV-series type. We've slowly become accustomed to them.
The ones we really fall for are of high cinematic quality, clever scripts and the like.
Sadly anymore, this is an automatic guarantee of questionable scenes mixed in with the rest.
Last night I watched an episode of one of my favorites. Along came "the mature scene." They're not in every episode, but often enough.
My husband Joel said a short while back, "It's like playing Russian Roulette isn't it? You pull the trigger and hope the gun doesn't shoot this time."
Yes, there was a twinge of guilt and conscience, but it was quickly supplicated with self-talk like:
"It's not a big deal."
"It doesn't affect me."
"I'm an adult."
"As long as the children don't see this."
Last night I had a dream. It was so influential that all desire to watch any of these shows again are gone.
It was a gifted change of heart.
The dream wasn't very long. It was more like a vivid, real-time conversation with a Power present.
I was shown a scene much like ones I had been watching, not in detail but I knew what it was. Immediately, I saw and felt my spirit groan and deflate.
The visual was tangible and three-dimensional.
I wasn't sensitive to this while watching the show earlier that evening, but in this moment I saw clearly what the effect was on me.
I said out loud, "I can see what this is doing to my spirit and I don't want to watch this."
And there appeared written on the air ~ a word.
"Good."
Good with a period on the end. I'm a writer, so this was significant.
It meant the knowledge was given, the decision was made and it doesn't need to be re-visited.
I woke up this morning knowing it was over. My love affair with all the clever, intriguing shows was done. The granted resolve left me knowing it wouldn't be all that hard either.
Consider this quote clear back from Ezra Taft Benson Lesson 3~ it seems to fit perfectly:
"Sin creates disharmony with God and is depressing to the spirit. Therefore, a man would do well to examine himself to see that he is in harmony with all of God’s laws. Every law kept brings a particular blessing. Every law broken brings a particular blight."
I will take the time to understand and pay attention to the rating system. And if it means I'm forever relegated to "How To Train Your Dragon" and "Pride and Prejudice," I can live with that.
In this day and age, there are so many options for wonderful, intriguing diversions, there is no need to get stuck to the "mature" media tar baby.
Line upon line, piece by piece, right?
Thanks for sharing time and thought space with me today.