This morning, though, a "new" idea came to my mind. I told her she should put her brain on a diet. And then I thought -- we all should do this!
It isn't about things you should and should not watch, read, see, dwell on. It is about what is healthy for your brain; what will encourage its health and strength and resilience to life's stresses. Just like our physical body, we can't expect our brains to be at their best and handle stress well if we feed them junk all the time.
Philippian 4:8-9 is a great guide for choosing postive brain food. The Message says it like this:
"Summing it up, friends, I'm say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble reputable authentic, compelling, gracious -- the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."
We are free to read what we want. We are free to watch what we want. We are free to talk about what we want.
But, if the choices we make drag us down, do we really want to continue making those same choices? If the choices we make draw us closer to Christ and to our best selves, aren't those good things?
What you ingest mentally and emotionally should encourage you to love God and people. If some of what you ingest closes your heart to certain people or God, then that stuff probably isn't good stuff.