Wiping the Slate Clean

I went shopping for a new laptop today. The one in our home is at least 6 years old - and still works beautifully - but it is dated and doesn't operate quite as quickly as the PC I use for my work. In considering the implications of switching all of my work from the PC to the laptop (with a docking station), it occured to me that I would be starting with a fresh slate. It's quite an amazing proposition to consider - not just from a computing standpoint - but from a way of life perspective.

What if you could wipe the slate clean? What if you could load the programs of your choice and start from where you are and move forward?

I think of all the downloads I've made on my PC and it's stunning to realize that it continues to work in spite of how much junk I throw at it. To be able to get rid of those now-unwanted programs is such a blessing. Oh, sure, I could uninstall quite a few of those programs anyway, but who takes the time to do that? I surely don't. I simply look at my program files with furrowed brows and gasp at the file names I don't recognize.

What if I could look at the file names in my mind? Would I delete any of them?

What if I could dump the crud out of my life and start from where I am without all the baggage of the past? What if I could start right now and load fresh programs where I could begin new memories and feel free again?

And yet, what would I choose? Would I want to live differently than I do now? How would I factor in the people who mean the most to me? It's not as simple as I would like it to be - even in my imagination. Life is complicated. Decisions are complicated.

Of course, if I dumped the crud, I'd probably be apt to repeat mistakes. Well, I do that now. ;) But at least having memories of the icky stuff repels some distasteful options. If only we could be guaranteed not to have to go through the same crud twice.

We are irrational beings. We want it all. But, we are unwilling to pay the price for having it all - or, if we do pay the price - it takes the form of consequences. Just consider the sub-prime mortgage debacle. If more people had read the fine print or thought through their actions more thoroughly, they would have made (or should have made) different choices.

A foreclosure isn't something you can wipe off of any slate. Nor is a divorce. Nor is a hasty, angry word.

I suppose that uninstalling the bad stuff isn't such a great idea after all. Some of the good would likely get mixed in with some of the bad. The lessons from a myriad of consequences would be lost. Poor decisions would be repeated and I'd find myself at 65 exactly where I am at 43 - and what's the point of that? I'd be no farther along and simply have more wrinkles.

I guess I'll just enjoy my new laptop and be thankful that I can start anew with it. Perhaps it won't be another 6 years before it gets replaced, but when it does, it will be loaded with a lot of stuff I really don't need - and I'll love every minute of it.