REALITY

Reality shows are anything but.

When I was growing up, television shows had titles like, "Father Knows Best." All families in these show had two parents. Of course, one parent was male and the other was female. The mother of the main family in the show was always attractive, a good cook, dressed neatly with proper makeup, never yelled, etc. The father was always slightly distracted but knew what was best (hence the title "Father Knows Best"). In the end, the father always came through for the family. Reality? Of course not!

When my kids were growing up, television shows became more realistic, but certain things were still off-limits. All beds were twin beds, and if the parents were shown in bed - a rarity - they were always in separate beds. These shows may have been somewhat more realistic, but not much. The exception was in the area of violence. For some reason, violence on television was more acceptable than sex when my kids were growing up. It was "ok" to show people being beaten or murdered, but "sex" - never!

During the past several years, "reality shows" have become very popular. Of course, real reality is rarely shown because real reality is almost always very boring. So many of these shows are about people in situations that normal people have never experienced and will never experience. The only thing real about these shows is the people. They are real in the sense that they are not actors. These shows are about real people in unreal situations. I guess that is "reality" in a limited sense.

The real reality show is everyday life. Most of us find our lives to be drudgery much of the time. Occasionally, something really good happens, and occasionally something really bad happens. The rest of the time, it’s "the same old, same old."

How do we make our personal "reality show" more interesting? We can take on challenges. These challenges do not need to be extreme. They need only involve improving some aspect or aspects of what we do. How can we improve our performance at work? How can we be better parents and spouses at home? How can we treat our parents more respectfully and give them the support that they need in their old age? How can we contribute more to our community? These and others like them can form the basis for creating challenges that will make our lives more interesting and the world a better place for us and everyone else.