TOTAL READ TIME: 3 Minutes

Remember this? SMPTE color bars from your television set.

Remember back in the day? Back when your household had one television. Saturday mornings, I remember waking early, running down the stairs, and flicking the knob on with its distinct click. I would stare at the color bar screen until the Star-Spangled Banner would play to announce a new day, then programming would begin at 5am.

There were just four channels: NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS. Important lessons were learned, in the days of one TV and four channels. Family all sat in one room together. If they didn’t want to watch the one story that the parents chose, kids went to their rooms.

I’m sad that my kids won’t learn the lesson that is learned through arguing for the remote control and negotiation for the screen. They won’t master the art of salesmanship to convince the other party as to why their show choice is better. Today, every kid has their own device; they are in their own world. They have thousands of choices immediately available. Since there is no waiting a week for the next episode, there is no day dreaming about what happens next.

Due to my nostalgia, we have instated a Weekly Movie Night. We entice our kids with the smell of fresh popcorn, then force our family of four into one room, share one screen and watch one story. Just like the good ol’ days.

This week’s movie was Rango, a story of a pet chameleon who was tossed from his owner’s pick-up truck. He was tossed into a new journey. The key slogan from the movie was “You can’t walk out on your own story.” This wisdom caused him to play within the scene he was in. To be fully present with exactly where he was at.

What a beautiful lesson this is. “You can’t walk out on your own story.” I have thought about how hard it is to stay present in my own story. I’ve thought about how many times I’ve wanted to rewind, fast forward or perhaps jump into a different story. You, too?

This week I’m going to pay attention to walking within my own story. To be fully present. To look at the scene I am in. What is the plot? Who are the other characters walking in? How can I influence what happens next?

Sounds like a perfect story to me. Perhaps we can be co-characters in a scene or two.