Upgrades

Products lack compatibility. How many old phone chargers, camera cords and USB plugs for varying electronic devices clutter the drawers of your desk? Sometimes phones made by the same company change plugs, so the cords from the older Blackberry can’t be used for the new slimmer model. Why? Likewise, software is not similarly compatible. I transfer all my photos to Picasa so that I can crop and edit them. I started a Christmas project with all my flower photos only to discover that Lulu.com only permits uploads directly from my PC or from Snapfish, Flickr or Photobucket. The problem is that the pictures on my PC are the pre-edited pictures. and it is as if the files on Picasa do not exist anywhere. I must only assume they reside out in some Google database and since Google doesn’t play nice with everyone, I am limited (prevented) from using Lulu.com if I use Google. So much for free choice.

I asked a friend yesterday if she thought people could change. She stared at me so I rephrased the question, “Do you think you can change?” We both agreed that we have faith (want to have faith) that through free will and desire, we can change ourselves. Yet, we share a doubtfulness that other people can change. Maybe we have the misfortune to be often associated with people who are discontent yet make no effort to remedy the situation. Complaining will not alter the universe. It is a colossal waste of energy, like setting money afire or pouring expensive liquor down the drain.

Yet, I know I can change. I know I have changed. And I have great faith and desire to change further. In gaming we call it “Leveling up”. Science calls it evolution. Religion calls it enlightenment. Humanists call it wisdom. As we change, we learn new skills, equip new gear, acquire new knowledge and all of these new facets contribute to a newer “me”. I avoid saying a better me because that accepts the idea that the old me was somehow deficient or inadequate. Yet, that prior version is specifically how I was able to get HERE. And now that I am here, I want to eliminate redundancy. I don’t want the psychic equivalent of that drawer full of cast off cords and plugs. I want all that was once part of me, useful for me to still be useful.

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