My week without TV

What happens when the cable box goes?

I talk about that in this week’s “All Things New”:

Well, for one thing, I actually began to read, deeply. I found myself dawdling over the Liturgy of the Hours, dipping into the Office of Readings. I put the Kindle I got for Christmas to good use, downloading Henri Nouwen and Timothy Keller and re-reading favorite parts of Thomas Merton. I spent some time tidying up my bookshelves and throwing out old magazines and organizing my home office into something that didn’t look like a disaster area in need of the Red Cross.

My wife and I rediscovered the lost art of conversation. We spent more time lingering over dinner, musing about the lousy weather and dreaming about spring. We finished our taxes. We fussed about our bills and how one of us (okay: me) tends to be a little too wild and crazy with the credit cards. A couple of nights, we prayed the rosary.

And after a few days of this, I found that yes, there is a life out there without TV—a surprisingly rich and fulfilling life, at that. A life where things like prayer and holy reading and thoughtful conversation with someone you love can easily supplant sitcoms and tacky talk shows.

That was just the beginning.  Check out the rest.