This week’s inspiration comes from an unlikely source: my cable company repair man. For weeks I have lived with one sports channel that would not switch to HD (high definition) mode. I could watch in SD (standard definition) mode, but in that mode I lost all benefit of the high resolution full screen viewing.
Over the weekend, I was determined to watch football in HD so I hunkered down for what I knew could be a complex and lengthy round of problem-determination with the cable company.
I have a “smart” TV, so it reminds me every time I turn it on, that comes to life more like a computer than an electronic device. So this time when the HD selection failed, I let its smartness prompt me through its protocol—pushing one button, rebooting, waiting, pushing another button—before it flunked out, gave me an error code, and instructed me to call customer service.
Great.
More recorded prompts sent me through the exact same procedure as my not-so-smart TV but thankfully a “speak to a representative” option was offered at the end. After eight minutes of holding music, the polite but efficient gentleman asked me for every piece of identifying information (except for my blood type) before suggesting I unplug my device, wait a few minutes, and plug it back in.
Magically, those football players filled my screen in high definition.
Dang it! I knew that trick could work. For the life of me I don’t know why I didn’t try it on my own. Feeling stupid, I figured I might as well learn from this process so I asked him, “Why do you have to unplug for this channel? None of the other channels had this issue.”
I wasn’t expecting much of an answer, but thought I’d give it a shot.
He surprised me with his explanation. “Some channels require more signal strength than others. A total reset by unplugging is necessary to restore it, especially after the recent storms.”
“Got it,” I said, thanking the kind man. Then I started thinking about it. Maybe that happens to us, too. Life hurls at us some storms that change our HD mode. Some parts of us recover fully, but maybe there is a channel or two that’s stuck in SD mode.
Maybe we need to unplug to restore completely.
I can’t explain it, but in many ways, I think lately I’ve been living life in SD—functioning, but not at full capacity. It’s not quite a funk, but I’m definitely not on my game. So I took my cable guy’s advice and “unplugged” a bit. I cleared some white space on my calendar.
And took extra time to observe a fall sunrise.
And cherished some extra snuggle time with Tripp.
And got lost in binge-watching my new favorite TV show, “This Is Us.”
Life is meant to be lived in HD. But sometimes we don’t have the signal strength to maintain it. We may need to reset with a little self-care and compassion. (Just like Blakely Faye reminded me last week!)
How about you? How do you reset after stormy weather in your life? Tell me about it. I’d love to know. I’m feeling better by the minute!
My best–always,
Becky (Nana B)
P. S.Thanks for the kind words from those in my Book List Insider group. It’s hard to believe my book is on Amazon.com now! For those who missed it, check it out here.
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