This American Life

I recently read a summary of studies of why people listen to music. Among the top reasons are (1) to manage emotion, (2) to provide background noise, (3) to reflect on the past, (4) as a distraction and (5) to encourage social interaction. While I was reading I realized that music has largely disappeared from my life over the past three years--mostly because when I came back from my mission it was too big of a project to move years-worth of my iTunes collection from my family account to my new personal computer. I just keep procrastinating it. But when I thought about when I would listen to music anyway, the only real time I have to just listen to something (since I cannot multi-task) would be while I exercise in the morning. And there is no way I would listen to music while I exercise because that is my "This American Life" time.

If you have never heard the podcast, "This American Life"...it is hard to describe. It is a radio show with a theme to each episode and stories along that theme. Sometimes, lucky times, there are essays or comedies added in. The show wanders in and out of these vaguely connected stories, delighting you all along the way, but the real beauty of it is how you feel connected to the people as you listen. You find yourself laughing because you know exactly the feeling they are describing, validated in your annoyance at rude strangers, or totally shocked that someone else could have been as completely geeky as you in middle school. It is an hour every week that reminds me just how much I am like all other humans--and I find that kinship delicious.

So I suppose my reasons for listening to "This American Life" are very similar to why others listen to music, such as to experience a wider range of emotions, to provide intellectually stimulating background noise, to feed my desires to be more cultural and sophisticated, etc. But mainly I just want to encourage social interaction between me and the millions of other humans out there who I may never meet, but whose existence really means a lot to me.

If you want to give it a try, subscribe to the "This American Life" podcast on your podcasts app for FREE, or go to their website, http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast. I seriously doubt you will be disappointed.

Life is Beautiful

Last night we watched the first 50 minutes of "Life is Beautiful" for the first time and fell in love with it. The entire 50 minutes clips along at a cheerful pace to match the personality of the main character, Guido. The plot is simple, but is interwoven with details that come up later to make jokes in delightfully surprising ways. Though we really only watched the introduction to what I expect to be a much deeper, richer story, it left us feeling enriched.

Thus far it is an enchanting story about how Guido falls in love and woos his wife, but there are ominous undertones and commentaries about the political turmoil beginning in Europe in the 1930s and 40s. The title seems to suggest the message of the movie--that despite everything going on around you, there can be beauty, meaning, and purpose in life. I am excited to finish it.

    **I have decided that any media that leaves me giggly, optimistic, chatty, and more inclined to exclaim "Buongiorno Principessa!" is worthwhile. It is even a priority when it comes to leisure time because it rejuvenated my spirit, made me grateful for the details of life, and linked my heart a little closer with my husband's just by watching it together.

The "me" in Media

Okay, so here is the problem: for my media class we are supposed to post once a week about our interactions with media. Well. We will be lucky if media and I can interact well enough to figure out how to make this post available to my class.
I suppose I will need to pick up a TV show or start checking Facebook so that I have something to blog about. For this first post I will just share some musings I have been having lately about my future with media.

1. I recognize that I can't just ignore all media, intrusive as it may be, and isolate myself. That would be kind of weird. And I don't want all of my Facebook friends to think I am weird.
2. Part of me really loved that one semester when I watched The Bachelor with my roommate. And not just because it is a ridiculous show. Something about it LURES YOU IN like when you are pouring a bowl of cereal and you keep pouring out just a few more lucky charms, hoping to get more charms than that other grainy stuff, and find that you have WAY too much cereal but you eat it anyway.
3. The other part of me recognizes that I usually leave interactions with media feeling empty and frustrated that I wasted part of my life.
4. What is the solution here? How can I use media to enhance my life rather than burn my eyeballs out and turn me into a grouchy wanna-be Bachelor contestant? Really these questions are nothing new. Humans have always sought to develop moderation and self-control. Media just joins the long list of temptations that help us develop these attributes. Just as God commands us to fast regularly in order to gain control over our appetites, I think it would be wise for us to disconnect ourselves every once in awhile, take a deep breath of unpolluted, uninterrupted thinking time, and re-evaluate the purpose of media and how we use it. It can be so loud and demand so much attention that it makes us forget everything else going on in our lives. Now, I believe media can be a great tool. I am amazed that I can connect with my family all over the globe instantly, google any question any time...also instantly, and even seek out virtuous and uplifting entertainment, hobbies, or craft inspiration...instantly. But I just hope that we don't lose sight of long-term goals and personal growth because we are drowning in a world of instant notifications. David Elkind in his book The Hurried Child wrote that the best things in life are slow. Think about it: waiting for Christmas morning, a five course Thanksgiving meal, mastering a bad habit, and the theme song from "Schindler's List". We rob ourselves if we saturate our lives with instant gratifications only.