The Light Bulb

How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb? It’s an old joke. Of course, the punch line is “CHANGE?!!”

I’m typing on my laptop as I load programs on to my new ‘big brain’ computer; not a PC this time, it’s an --- shhh— Apple! I’m finally through fighting the viruses, crashes, and all the other stuff that comes with the territory. Mind you, I will still deal with these issues as my new super-duper Apple has a cross-platform where I can run a Windows operating system. Why? Because all the business software I purchased just a few months ago is for a Windows system.

Change. It’s sure easier to say than do. That’s why the old joke is funny. It’s true and a dilemma. Sometimes no matter how much we want or desire or need to change, the process is so darn hard. I desire to walk completely away from a PC system but don’t have the total funding to do this. I must still wade in the water of Windows to hope and work toward the day I can be totally free of my old system.

It’s very reflective of the many aspects we all deal with as we step the stones of life. Change is possible but it must be a deliberate process. It can be a difficult process, so difficult, we sometimes succumb to our old habits. We may know things are bad but the process of change becomes a greater challenge than living with the problem.

I’ve spent the past 34 days painting and scraping plaster. It’s not something I do on a regular basis. I’ve been working to change a house. I hope I never have to do it again but the probability is there will be another paint brush in my future. It’s been a drag and I can’t quite see the outcome as this point in time, but I feel the journey has been fruitful. Like the computer, working towards something new and different with a new home, has been unchartered; at times, stressful, and definitely requiring labor.

Change requires focus, deliberate action, intent toward a goal, and physical/mental movement away from the current status. While I have been doing ‘my change’ over the past 34 days, I’ve wondered what ever made me think this was a good idea. This process is dreadful. My body aches. My checkbook is sagging. Sometimes I feel I have more paint on my clothes than on the wall. I have involved myself in a process where the situation cannot revert back to its old way. After all, my tub, now gone, was living on my curb waiting for the trash man who carried it away right after Christmas and my toilet is still sitting on my patio. I could turn the toilet in to a planter, but there are still those holes I’m staring in the bathroom where my tub and toilet used to reside. I can’t use the facility in its current state, so I must forge ahead.

I leave this entry pondering, is change better served and achieved when it is impossible to return to the former state? When you can’t go back, you must forge ahead. After all, you don’t have to know how many people it takes to change the light bulb if it’s now an LED.