Can We Ever Go Back?

Very recently there was a major internet disruption where I live. Woke up one morning to no Wi-Fi, no TV, no email, no apps on my phone working. I soon found out the problem was more widespread than I initially thought. OK I thought, by mid morning, the issue would be resolved. I will be fine. Not so fast. Noon came and went, afternoon passed. By then my patience had waned. I found myself wondering what to do next. I cannot use my phone, I cannot text, I cannot do research, I cannot send emails. This had become a very inconvenient problem. 

In many places, debit and credit were also affected. Cash was king, but many folks no longer carried cash, especially since the pandemic began. This whole issue got me to thinking…is it ever easy or even possible to go back to how it was? I mean, at my age, I remember when there was no internet, no smartphones…before technology took over the entire world. So, you would think one day without technology would be fine for me, right? Well, I thought it would be, until I realized literally everything in the modern world depended on some form of technology. Our entire world now revolves around tech. 

My TV also required the internet, so I was unable to use that. In the good old days, before technology existed, we seemed to manage just fine. That was before the advent of technology and our reliance on it. The young people must wonder….what did you do to keep busy back then? We managed just fine, because there was no comparison to be made. I guess I answered my own question. We cannot go back to a time that has passed. As humans, that’s just the way we are wired. You get used to something and it becomes the norm. Having said that, why are some folks still trying to reverse time and fight battles that were hard fought and had already been won? Essentially, trying to revisit a time that has already passed.

Many years ago, I found myself single after being attached for years. An old boyfriend from my past came back on the scene. He happened to be single at the same time as well. We started dating again. Someone who knew us both very well, said to me….“Why bother? It did not work back then, it won’t work now.” I was a bit bothered by the remark at the time. But; you know what?…that person was right. The relationship quickly fizzled. We encountered many of the same issues that led to the relationship’s demise before. So, can we go back decades later, to how it was so many years ago? The likely answer is a resounding …no.