The function of the key combination differs depending on the context but it generally interrupts or facilitates interrupting a function. Huh…how different would our lives be if we could perform a “soft reboot” when we felt it absolutely necessary? We do it to our computers without even batting an eye lash. How many times have you been working on a project on the computer and it freezes…just stops working, the first thing we think to do is hit those three tiny keys. We know that the number one risk is that what we have just spent hours working on may be lost, yet we do it anyway, why? Is it impatience, lack of computer knowledge, or just the fact that we know we are in control?
The little finger is gently placed on the control key…. with just a bit more pressure the index finger presses down on the alt button….and with every force in your being you slam the opposite index finger on the delete key! You know you’ve done it. Now think back to how it felt, the instant gratification that came with hitting that delete key so hard that the tip of your finger is now throbbing. You are the queen/king of your computer.. you have beat it, all you have to do now is turn it back on, let that baby warm up and you are on your way.
I have been a total scatter brain lately, the things running through my head are all jumbled up like letters from a boggle game and the sand in the timer is almost out. I have had several moments where I wished I had those three buttons so that I can take a few moments when I am rebooting to just breathe. Of course we have all thought about having a pause button and there are several occasions that I could think of where freezing time would come in handy, but for some reason these seem like they would prove to be more useful. 
PC Encyclopedia gives this definition for the process: The key combination in Windows that enables a user to terminate an unresponsive application. When all three keys are pressed at the same time, the Task Manager utility is launched, which displays all open applications. It also enables the user to reboot the computer. Ok, now do me a favor and think of a time where you could apply that to your life…..I have like a million how about you?
We may be willing to take the risk and lose our monthly budget report by performing that reboot, but would we be willing to lose life moment’s if we came equipped with a similar utility. As appealing as it may seem to slam on that delete button during painful moments of our lives, it is within those moments that we are really being rebooted. The hard part is waiting before placing our fingers on those keys, wait to see if your frozen moment can be undone in its own time, not by you trying to control it.
Since my divorce I have been feverishly trying to put my life back together, making every detail perfect. The perfect job, home, friends, and even romance. I’ve been on a speed train just pushing ahead to the next thing, not taking any time to just breathe, look around and let life happen to me, instead of my trying to make life happen. I feel like I’ve in a way been doing my own soft reboot by just skipping ahead and searching for anything that would resemble putting my life back on track. When what I should be doing is living in the frozen moments, figuring out why they are frozen and what it is going to take make my life move again.
So how will I do it? I can apply those keys in a different way. First by taking control of how I handle things when life starts swinging, then using that alt key to find alternatives when something is not going how it should in order to move me ahead in a positive way, finally deleting anything that is detrimental to my progression or is not allowing me to just be me.
Have you felt the need for those three magic keys? Ever tried to use them? Please share.
Kimberly
Courageous Butterfly
11/12/13
Related links/blogs
Jumbled Thoughts, Liezl’s Poetry
Lately, my time is spent with a tool in my hand, sometimes it’s a hammer, other’s it’s a paint brush, today it was a two-wheeled dolly to haul damaged, rotted out wood from a front walk to a pile in the back yard. I have been working very hard to make my new home mine. Erasing memories that live within the walls, floors, and even the front walk. In the midst of all of the pounding, scraping, sweeping, sawing, and washing I have realized that moving on from divorce or loss requires more construction than I thought.
The caterpillar has just realized that she is trapped in her cocoon until she is ready and strong enough to fly on her own. What do you think is going through her mind? I’d like to think she is calm, relaxed, and reflecting on what her future will be like once she is transformed. Perhaps she closes her eyes and in a calm voice whispers to herself, “don’t panic”.
Out of the Chrysalis 