System Restore for Humans

Every so often when life is spiraling around me, I think of my computer. It could be when I see the economy crumbling. It could be in the midst of a disagreement with my wife or friend. It could be just after the hammer I am using misses the mark, but not my thumb. It is times like these that I think of my computer and that wonderful XP feature that is called, “System Restore”. With System Restore, I can click on the date just before my computer went to hell in a hand basket, and immediately hear the birds singing and feel the warm rays of technical sunshine make things right again.

How nice would it be to bring up dates and times on a screen and right all the wrongs in my life with just the click of a mouse? I could go back to October 16th, 2007 when the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its zenith at 14,165 points. And once there I could move my retirement funds into a more conservative setting and avoid the huge dive that I could not see coming.

I could click on the date when I spoke those words that could never be taken back. I could choose a better path and perhaps create some happier memories.

And last, I could save that thumbnail that is black and pounding with pain by going back just a few minutes and taking a more careful swing with that hammer.

But then I think of life in all of its glorious imperfection. How things tend to work themselves out. How time heals wounds, and disagreements form better understanding. I think of reward without risk and how empty it would seem. And then I think of my computer. And that wonderful XP feature that is called, “System Restore”. And then I realize that what may be great for a computer, may not be great for my life.