In a recent on line discussion about tv, you all remember the one, I think it was entitled, 'How much is too much?' refrencing television and kids, something one of you wrote pretty much changed my life. If I didn't have a teething nursing baby in my lap weilding a dreadlocked naked brats doll towrds my face, I'd be inclined to go search and give the proper gratitude, but you'll understand. Which ever mom made a point that I will never forget. All television is is commercials. Thirty minute commercials, hour long commercials, advirtising lifestyles and values, ect. I wish I could quote you, yours was better. I used to get kind of annoyed when I would have to hear these hippies out IRL ( and admitedly here too) go on about the evils of being exposed to too much television, but now I am beginning to see how my lack of exposure to it has made me feel less depressed, less burdoned, less bothered, less self coincous, and I completly contribute a general feeling of well being to tuning out instead of in. Had somebody told me this before, out of pure lack of experience, I would have concluded that their analysis would mean the subject was simply weak minded, and if that was the case patheticaly impressionable. Well, if that is the truth I don't care because I am much, much happier without the tv showing me how to think, feel, look, act, and parent. If this is the case, then I am so intrigued on what else could make a diffrence in the way that I percieve myself and my place in it. I never noticed how it was so much in my nature to compare and contrast and compute on a perhaps subcoincous level that always left me feeling guilty and off. Now that I have been "off" tv for a couple of weeks, when I am around it I see more and more messages that are being spit put and how unrealistic and downright dangerous these messages could be. I wonder, how diffrent would I be had I never watched televison? How much happier would I be? How much more knowledgable, educated, centered, how many more things could I have accomplished in my life if I hadn't speant all those damn hours sitting there watching something I might have seen two or three times before? I know that is a huge wordy digression and the topic I approached was not about tv, it was about happiness. So since I have opened it up, would you guys be willing to give me other suggestions from your tried and true real life experiences that you think are crucial to being centered or less stressed?

I have three:

1.Drinking kombucha and raw juice makes me feel better, happier. Puts a spring in my step!
2. No matter how tired I am, I am much happier waking up to a clean kitchen then starting out the day up to my elbows in baked on food and searching for clean sippy cups. waking up to a clean house in general makes a huge diffrence in my attitude about everything. Perhaps someday I will be so Tao as to 'not let it get to me', but then again, if it makes me happy at this point I will not question it.
3. Reminding myself that I have a tendency to have things either be bad or perfect, and since there is no 'perfect' then I can easily be disappointed because it was bad. I know its something that in Buddhism and Tao-ism ( a word?) that is stressed constantly. The search for perfection, trying for perfection is asking for it. Well now I try and ask myself that when I am feeling stressed alot more during the day and in general. I have very unrealistic standards and expectations. Theres no such thing as perfect and when I ask myself if thats why I am disappointed/stressed out, it diffuses alot of my frustrations.

I just want to know, what makes you feel better- anything, everything lay it on me. Little, big, what has made an impact on your life and what do you try and stick to OR stear clear of?