The Big Three: Beautiful Day

The world can be a crazy place. Sometimes it helps to step back and list a few of the things you’re grateful for. I’m making it a habit each week to list three blessings. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, June 22 – 28.

What I’m grateful for:

—Giving your best. When I get frustrated or feel like giving up, I think of the late Steve Prefontaine. He was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and he was preparing for the 1976 Olympics with the Oregon Track Club at the time of his death in 1975. He had a unique perspective on competition that makes me grateful and helps push me to the end. He phrased it like this: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” I’m grateful for the chance to give my best.

—It’s a Beautiful Day. When the band U2 released the song “Beautiful Day” in 2000, lead singer, Bono, explained that the song was about a man who has lost everything but finds happiness in what remains. The song’s lyrics touch on themes of new beginnings and the potential for hope even after a difficult period. I’m grateful for the joy in my life.

U2 – Beautiful Day

—I’ve got the power! I wrote last week about how I was thankful for air conditioning and electricity. In the heat, they’re a God-send. I’m thankful today for a different kind of power.

The power to run our various machines and electronics. Power cords and cables are essential components in our daily lives. They power everything from household appliances to complex industrial machinery. I misplace the cord to power my laptop the other day. Let’s just say, I had a mad hunt for the cord.

What gave me a smile?

We live in changing times.

When I was in college in the mid 80s, a young mass communications professor got in front of my class. He was dry as they come. He talked with a monotone voice and sounded more like someone out of the Philosophy Department than a Communications Professor. On this day, though, he had our undivided attention. He talked about the future of communications. He described how the major networks were going to lose their power and how we were going to sit in front of our televisions and pick and choose what we wanted to watch. He talked about not having to wait to watch our favorite show, but watching it on demand. It got better. He described watching TV shows, movies, and sports on the go and how we would have hundreds of choices at the touch of our fingers. My classmates and I laughed at him. He was out there, but even this was too much for us to take.

Well, who’s laughing now. The future is now.

For the first time, more people are watching television through streaming services than through the combined viewership of broadcast and cable television, according to the people who follow these things. Nielsen reported that streaming accounted for 44.8% of total TV usage in the month of May, while broadcast and cable combined for 44.2%. This shift highlights the growing dominance of streaming. This is the first time streaming has surpassed the combined viewership of broadcast and cable since Nielsen began tracking this data in May 2021.

The future is now!