I sometimes joke that I was raised by television, but in all honesty, it’s not that far from the truth. I feel as if my morals were developed by watching how certain characters reacted when confronted with a problem. Was this the wisest way to learn about the world? Definitely not, but my alternatives were worse.
I mentioned this because ever as an adult, I’m always on the lookout for a good message. I like a good quote or situation that I can remember to help keep me motivated to be better as mentioned in my Be A Goldfish post. Television today isn’t geared towards doing the right thing or sliding moral messages into the plot, but it doesn’t always need to be. Sometimes it’s just the way a couple of characters approach a situation that can have an effect on me.
One of the stranger places I found a message that resonated with me was in a recent episode of King of the Hill titled Movin’ On Up. In this episode, Luanne decides to move out of The Hill’s house and into another house within the neighborhood. She gets three roommates in order to cover the bills and quickly learns about the harsh reality of paying bills and living with miserable people.
Throughout the episode, Luanne is constantly at odds with her roommates and she is forced into being the adult of the house. She establishes rules and slowly turns into Hank, the man she was attempting to escape because she didn’t agree to follow his rules. The irony is not lost on her but her pride prevents her from admitting she made a mistake.
Luanne finds herself in a miserable position. She’s living in a house she’s unhappy in. She’s forced to be someone she isn’t ready to be and like a lot of adults she finds she’s rather powerless to deal with it. Hank decides to give her a little piece of advice.
“You know, Luanne, you and I both wanted a little place of our own. I thought my den would be my oasis but now the only place I can get away from the various annoyances in my life is my lawn. When I’m out there mowing, edging, watering, even fertilizing nothing else matters. Yep, that’s what you got to do, Luanne. Find yourself a project. Find your own lawn.”
Luanne didn’t rush out and find a project, but she did stumble up on a bit of serenity when cleaning the pool. She found peace in perfecting the pH and she took pride in one small thing she could control.
I thought it was a wise piece of life advice. I know when I get overwhelmed I find myself feeling hopeless and out of control. It’s so easy to blame other people or life circumstances, but ultimately my happiness is up to me. We all need a little place to escape to, a place where we can get away from the world’s problems and just be at peace.
This blog is my digital lawn. It’s a place that I love to work on, take pride in, and am happy to share with other people. It’s my own little digital oasis. I would love to have something in the physical world that brings me the same sense of peace and calm as this blog, but I haven’t quite found it yet. I’m still looking though. I’m sure my lawn’s out there.
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