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Performance Artist - Actor - Maker of Stuff

52 Weeks of No TV

I gave up TV for one year in 2012.  Instead of TV, I made some THING every week.  In hindsight, it was a fecund year. (oh yeah, I used the word fecund)  It was the basis for many projects including my full production of Plasticland:  A Better Place.  It spawned unlikely artistic collaborations, built creative confidence and I got to smash a TV with a golden sledgehammer.  I haven't combed through this blog in awhile but I wanted to peruse it for inspiration.

Week 2 of 52 - The thing is the thing

ATTENTION: LIKE MOST QUOTES, THIS QUOTE WILL NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFE

"Everything ends, and Everything matters.  Everything matters not in spite of the end of you and all that you love, but because of it.  Everything is all you've got - your wife's lips, your daughter’s eyes, your brother's heart, your father's bones and your own grief - and after Everything is nothing. So you were wise to welcome Everything, the good and bad alike, and cling to it all.  Gather it in. Seek the meaning in sorrow and don't ever ever turn away, not once, from here until the end. Because it is all the same, it is unfathomable, and it is all infinitely preferable to the one dreadful alternative."  From Everything Matters by Ron Currie, Jr.  

(I feel this.  This is my jive.  This is why I gave up TV.  I read this in a book I found in my hallway.  It made me feel like the "the great big out there" was giving me a sign.  I'm moving in a positive direction and my reward was this little truth splayed out on the pages of a book I would never have read if I wasn't looking for something to read.)   

NO.  REALLY, HOW ARE YOU?

This week has been a doozy.  (That's right - a doozy)  May 22 was the 13th anniversary of my mom's death; May 23 we produced an invited rehearsal for a project that has taken 2 years to come to some sort of fruition; May 24 I trained at a new job; May 25 I worked; May 26 I spent the day wondering what I was going to make for week 2; and may 27 I cleaned my cozy (aka tiny) alphabet city apartment including window screens.

With no TV distracting me, I have turned my attentions towards my husband.  He has noticed a difference in our relationship and after (almost) 14 years of being together, we are always looking for ways to up the ante when it comes to our time together. 

Not all is well in the No TV world of Kym Bernazky.  I can tell you that I have replaced TV with food and booze.  Well, I've let it go for 2 weeks.  Week 3 will be marked by more discipline and a tighter schedule and budget.  I have many things I was hoping to get back into my life:  meditation, yoga, exercise, and cooking.  I think it's fair to say that these healthy cornerstones will enhance my life now that it lacks TV.  

AND WHAT'S HAPPENING CREATIVELY...

 

  • I don't have to top myself every week. 
  • I don't have to have a tangible thing for you to see. 
  • I don't have to be precious about the work I'm doing.
  • Each week's thing would not have existed if I hadn't made it.  That's why it's important.
  • it's not about the outcome, it's about the process.
  • Relax.
  • Good ideas are infinite.
  • Keep an open mind and trust others.

Peace out, supporters!  Down with TV!

kym bernazkyComment