Change, You, And The Internet!

It is strange that most of us fight change and are unwilling to go along with anything new or different. Perhaps it is because we are frightened by it. We always prefer to cling to the known and familiar.

Where would we be today if everyone had always clung to the known and familiar? There would be no televisions, automobiles, running water, electricity, computers, homes, and so on ad infinitum (fancy words for endlessly). We would still be shivering in caves with no fire and no weapons, dependent on nature for whatever we could find to eat.

I would think the first person to find fire was afraid of it. It was an unknown quantity. Eventually curiosity got the best of that person, who then investigated it more closely. Once it was found that fire could ward off predatory animals and even provide light and heat in the dismal caves, it was welcomed.

This paradox can be applied to virtually every discovery or invention. First we wondered (curiosity), then we investigated. This was not done by remaining with the familiar and known. We had to test the unfamiliar and unknown.

Change can be and is exciting and fun. The Internet is just one small example of this. The horizons of those who have chosen to become familiar with the Internet have been expanded beyond belief. It is no small thing to have almost immediate and basically free correspondence with someone in a country many thousands of miles distant.

We have virtually immediate access to the thoughts and ideas of others throughout the world. We can research and find information on just about every conceivable subject. We can tap into the accumulated knowledge of all of humanity with amazing speed and accuracy.

Through the Internet we are exposed to the customs and manners of others. To some of us it is a shock to find that the majority of humankind has at its very core the same dreams and goals we have. We are no longer isolated from others. They are as close as our computers and Internet connections.

Lest I become too vocal about the virtues of the Internet, there are also great vices. The anonymity of the Internet allows those with vile language and foul tempers to unleash their vituperation behind the screen of the Internet. Spam, or Unsolicited Bulk Email, is rampant. Pornography and/or ads for it are found in the most innocent of web searches.

History itself shows that with every advance made by humanity, there have been undesirable elements. Perhaps this is part of the reason we fear change. I really don't know.

When we look at change as being fun and exciting, it becomes so. When we always look for the very best, we inevitably find it. Life without change would become so boring as to be untenable. Who wants to live a truly boring life? Only those who are unwilling to accept change of any kind.

In summary, use all the good attributes of change and the Internet and ignore the parts you dislike. Truthfully, the only thing that is actually constant about life is that it will change. So why not accept and fully embrace change? It is a wonderful thing. nnn