January 17, 2013

• Safe Mode

  Sometimes when my computer freezes and I have to hard reboot it, I get the option to start it “Safe Mode.” Basically, (as I’m sure most of you know) safe mode lets the computer start with only the essential parts running. When malware or corrupted files or poorly formatted software hinder your computer’s performance, starting it up in safe mode kind of chokes off the nuisances. Safe mode keeps extraneous programs and features from engaging so that the computer will work–and be subject to the junk that disrupts it.

  I want to live in safe mode.

  It would be nice, sometimes, to turn off all the little “extras” that make unpleasant at times. I’m sure it would mean limited functionality. I’m also sure that I wouldn’t mind. It’s all the extra functions in life that stress me the most: social pressures, others’ expectations, inner tensions about ambitions, social situations, etc. For me, these stressors–some internal and some external–are the source of disquietude. From them, the unfortunate effects of malware and defects flow, coloring my life an icky shade of defunct.

  I would gladly give them up if I thought that they would make life a little less troublesome. Yet, there’s the rub.

  There’s an elegance in the notion of a simple life. The hard part about it is giving up the things that we think we need. Discerning the difference is key…and nearly impossible. If only we had the option every morning to determine which systems we would have to use that day! If only…

  I keep trying to find the button on me that turns off everything except what is absolutely essential, what I need to keep going, the bare minimum of systems that I need to employ. That button is not my belly button, it’s not behind my ears, nor is it pulling any particular sequence of toes. I’ve concluded that if such a button exists, it’s not externally accessible.It must be inside…somewhere.

  What would you shed if you could start in “safe mode”?

  • 10:44 pm
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