the idiot box

i'm trying to be better about being aware of what's going on in the world. it's easy to block everything out being a stay at home mom. to be honest, the news media gets on my nerves after awhile - i have trust issues with them. but, because of that sometimes i block it all out and then i am totally ignorant and that's not so good either. so, i try to get a little dose of the today show during the week, and then lee and i got a subscription to World magazine for Christmas so i've been trying to read that. i also enjoy listening to sean hannity on the radio if i happen to be in the car at the right time. and to balance it all out sometimes i'll catch the hot topics on The View. haha - although they get annoying and talk about sex too much. i enjoy reading World the most.

all that to say, while reading World last week i came across something. On January 17 in a speech at the Madhavrao Scindia Memorial, the Dalai Lama is quoted as saying, "I love President George W. Bush." and later, "it is difficult to deal with terrorism through nonviolence."

i just never expected that.

something else that interested me - from the Hindu national newspaper online -

"Happy people spend a lot of time socialising, going to church and reading newspapers — but they don’t spend a lot of time watching television, a new study finds. That’s what unhappy people do.

Although people who describe themselves as happy enjoy watching TV, it turns out to be the single activity they engage in less often than unhappy people, said John Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the author of the study, which appeared in the journal Social Indicators Research."

i admit, i used to watch a ton of tv. then, i got married, we didn't have cable, so it was a little less tempting. and then last spring our antennae broke, then i had a baby and didn't have time to watch tv for awhile. i started watching movies. then we were able to get a picture again on a few stations and the commercials about drove me crazy.

i'm rambling, but i agree with this study - strangely, the tv is terribly addictive and at the same time unsatisfying.

God reminded me of this the other day - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6 NIV

Or as the New American Standard puts it - ""Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."