Sometimes I fix PC's for friends. I just never realised the parallels between fixing a PC and fixing a life. After taking to someone the other day It dawned on me that the parallels were perhaps closer than I cared to imagine.
When you fix a software fault on a PC, you can take one of two routes.
Assuming that a piece of software on your PC is faulty or infected, you can attack the PC with various tools; such as virus scanners or spy software detection tools. All these tools are designed to find the "infections" within the buggy OS and fix it.
The trouble is, your PC will never run as well as it did on the first day you turned it on. Every application, even when removed leaves more junk on your PC slowing it down, and eventually, no matter how much you try, your PC will fail.
The parallels to life are there to be seen. We are born with (mostly) a clean slate, and since that day we accumulate knowledge, attitudes, and take on things from the environment surrounding us. Like our dear PC, no matter what life lessons we adopt and maybe drop as we go, we can never stop being a sum of all those small parts - or can we?
Are psychologists our virus and spyware equivalents? Is Prozac our great antivirus?
The second more drastic option, at least with the PC, is a complete reload. By wiping the hard disk and reinstalling a complete OS again we give our beloved PC a new chance at life - what was once old becomes new again - and all the garbage from before is gone. Our PC has a new chance with different software options. Sure - it will eventually run slower again but for today it is as good as new.
The parallel to this in human terms was explained to me as a "break". Only when deprived of most or all of the supports in your existing life, can you "break" then rebuild yourself again. Evidently this could mean that old thoughts and conceptions holding you back can be thrown away, and a new less restrictive options can be there for the taking. I wonder if the person "breaking" does this on purpose or if the result is merely the only positive outcome from an incredibly shitty situation.
I'm not sure I agreed with the person I was talking with but to those of you who may have come through this "break" process intact, I salute you, and pray you never have to endure it again.
4 comments:
You wise old thing, you! I liked this ... I guess moving to Belgium turned out to be a kind of break ... having lost all I had taken forgranted, I discovered that perhaps I can make a living from photography ... not such a bad trade off :)
You smsed you were replying to my comments, reassured I came back and commented tonight ... now I see nothing here, were you lying to me, oh terrible one????
Not every comment - but i am replying most times.
I prefer that you comment on every comment I make ... actually.
Hmmm, perhaps I need to be a little more outrageous to get attention here huh ... I could start talking of Sandra too. Ahhh yes, I'll get dialogue yet.
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