Snow Day

Snow Day! Almost nothing gives kids more unadulterated joy than those two words. Okay, maybe Christmas, Easter, summer vacation. But there’s build-up to those. A snow day is usually a surprise; like a shiny package delivered at sunrise. Yesterday was not just a day off from school. To a kid, like my son Jesse, it was one of those moments where the entire universe opens up and you can drift into the snow covered mystic.

Of course snow days aren’t always so great for adults - especially in March. Ugh. Enough already. Switching schedules, finding coverage for the kids, and of course, driving and shoveling, can make you feel like you’re having a midnight snack in the “Big Chill.” No one said it was going to be easy.

In so many ways we have adult-erated our joy. We’ve tempered it. And you can’t help most of it; you have to suppress the fuzzy feelings to survive, right? Got that. But if you slow things down enough to read the sign posts are you at least on the path to it? Only you can say what gives you joy and if we’ve learned anything from the prophets of positive thinking, we know that we’re responsible for our own bliss.

But really, who has time to find your Chi, when you’re just trying to find your keys?

So, let me ask: Can television help you with that? Help you find your kwan? A lot of TV is about instant joy; sports and drama and comedy and the ironically named “reality” shows. But don’t those things really just help you reach artificial heights? Leaving you to crash after the closing credits? It’s like a visual energy drink; feels great on the way up, but it can’t sustain you.

That’s where Public Television is different. We’re offering shows everyday that do provide sustenance, both intellectual and emotional. We produce content that can be at once lined with linear narrative and abstract thought. Our work investigates conditions or issues that can result in a meaningful difference in the lives of people who are either the subjects of our programming or who just simply watch it. We produce programs that have the capacity to move people either incrementally toward an idea or to a whole new level of consciousness.

If you’ve yet to experience that, there are a couple of programs on this month that can help you with the passion thing. Deepak Chopra’s new program “The Happiness Prescription” discusses modern research on what makes people happy and unveils 10 Keys to help you live more joyfully. Then there’s Jack Canfield - “The Chicken Soup for the Soul” guy - who provides viewers with a clear, personalized action plan for improving lifestyle, opportunities and relationships in his program, “The Secret Law of Attraction.” Can one TV show help you find inner peace? Probably not. But you can find opportunities for inspiration by watching Detroit Public TV every week. All you have to do is leave yourself open to the possibility that ideas you’ve yet to explore may lead you to exactly what you’ve been looking for. And then maybe every day can be a snow day - even if you’re not a kid anymore.

Fred Nahhat
DPTV Director of On-Air and Online Fundraising