Susan likes to tell me I’m a tech-head, and although I hotly deny it, I fear this blog may just confirm that it’s true!
Recently, I was scanning my computer for spyware – that’s the nasty stuff that downloads itself from the internet when you’re not looking, hops onto your PC hard drive and lodges amongst your files hoping to hijack your personal information and pass it on to the highest bidder.
It’s these malicious little viruses that can steal your credit card details and land you with a bill bigger than Ben Hur.
Now, I don’t want to scare you, but to my horror the scan detected a whopping 800 pieces of spyware, and its little brother adware, hiding out on my hard drive. Thankfully, once I knew they were there, I could zap them with the click of a button, but I got to thinking how much “virtual spyware” my family – particularly my children – might gather in the course of a day.
By “virtual spyware” I mean the harsh words and negative comments that we all hear on our journey and which cling to us despite our best intentions. The stuff we see on TV or read in the newspapers that steals our joy and tramples on our dreams. thefamilyroom girls call it the lint of life.
In case you’ve never heard of lint, the dictionary defines it as “clinging bits of fibre and fluff”. It’s those tiny fur-balls that gather on the sleeves of your favourite woolly sweater turning it from chic to shabby.
Can we scan our families, like we scan our computers, and rid them of the lint of life? Maybe communication is the answer to this human spyware. Making time to talk about what has shaped our day and nipping those cares and worries in the bud before they get a strangle-hold on our lives and spoil the view.
So the moral of my story is two-fold. On a practical level, I need to become more tech savvy and keep my computer clear of those dubious downloads. But on a personal note, I’m determined to make sure the lines of communication at home are wide open and the family is fur-ball free.
Deborah
*Look out for a podcast coming soon on the lint of life
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
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7 comments:
Deborah, The lint analogy works for me. We can pick off the bit of lint if we remove it when it forms. Leave it and it can multiply into one big matted mess. In the busyness of life to stop and listen has to be a deliberate action. Thanks for the words of wisdom. Annie.
p.s we needs tec-heads you are very clever!
Ok so now I'm checking everything on my computer. I'm so mindful of identity theft. I've started shredding everything!
I love the thought about 'lint' on our children. How often do they come home from school or where ever saying that someone has said this or that about them. We need to keep ourselves available and our eyes and ears open so we can see the lint that may be attaching to our children ~ whatever their ages!
Thanks Deborah.
Susan
Deborah,
I forgot to add......you are a tech-head and I LOVE it.
Who would have thought, the lovely English lass a techy. God truly moves in mysterious ways. I love that about life.
Susan
Thanks for your comments! Funny thing is, I've found that I have to keep zapping the spyware regularly as it comes right back again - also like lint!
Deborah
or you could just get a mac which don't get viruses....not sure what the analogy is there though
Actually, I'm definitely thinking of getting a Mac - and they look so pretty too!
Deborah
Fantastic post. You are a wise woman and you have drawn an analogy that has opened a door of communication with my daughters. Thank you!
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