Thursday; March 25

It was on this day in 1954 that RCA manufactured its first color television set. According to the article I read, it was 12.5 inch screen and cost about $1000.00. While that might seem to be a useless bit of trivia for some of you, let me see if I can put this in perspective. I was nine years old when we got the first color television set at our house. Up to that point, even though SOME shows were broadcast in color our televisions displayed it in a mixture of black, white and grays. No, we weren’t the first or last family on our block to get a color television set (that got three channels); but when we finally got our 19 inch set, our entertainment options were greatly enhanced. One of the things that I remember most about the color televisions sets was the way it changed the perspectives of what we saw. The trimmings on the Orioles uniforms were orange and the Cardinals’ red birds really were red. Lucille Ball had flaming red hair and the country music stars’ Nudie suites were splashed with color. (I will stop there for a minute while you Google all those references.) Color television sets changed the way we saw the world.
Now, the reason for this trip back in the way-back machine is to question what shades our perspective. Reality stays constant, but our choice of optimism or pessimism influences how we perceive it. Truth is truth, but our decision to accept it or reject it shapes our worldview. Our circumstances are what they are, but our choice of hope or helplessness dictates the quality of life we’ll have.
Do we want to be happy and fulfilled? What are we doing to live that way?
Think About It!

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