Occasionally there is a phrase I hear that I can’t get out of my mind. “The Up Side of Down” is my current one. 

I’ve been experiencing computer problems for well over a month with my monitor. Since it was still under warranty, I had my experience with the manufacturer who was great telling me what I wanted to hear, but terrible about follow through. I’m still looking for the e-mail with the information where I am to send my laptop for repair.

Messing around with the manufacturer’s customer service wasn’t anything I chose to do much longer and went out and bought a new laptop. The upside was that I have my old laptop available to transfer files and programs to my new one. It was also a way for me to clean up my computer — a major spring cleaning of sorts to keep only what was important to me. It’s amazing what I’ve saved in my documents file and download file.

This has also been a positive learning experience for me. I’m learning more about Windows 8.1 and my new laptop.

While my old laptop’s monitor was fizzling out on me, I was in the process of changing and revamping one of my websites. I was also able to crash it . . . fix it, continue working through the kinks. This is another one of those upsides . . . without these experience I wouldn’t have learned what I have in the process. Plus, I wouldn’t have learned valuable lessons.

Over the years I’ve been involved in internet marketing, I thought the important thing was to get a website up and running. Over the days, months and years I’ve made changes . . . some not so smart when I moved this website from one hosting company to another . . . losing all of my content and valuable visitors. But, selfishly, I needed a change. TwoCansOnAString.com was too big, doing too much. It bloomed into three websites . . . perhaps even a fourth is coming . . . I may be making the same mistake again . . . but I’ve learned how to save my content. And I know TwoCansOnAString.com is special to me . . . and will always be a bit of a mess with just about everything thrown in . . . as are the conversations we have with family and friends. Or when I was a child and playing with two cans on a string and trying to think of something to yell into my can for my friend at the other end of the string to hear. Were we pioneers just like Thomas Edison? Was the thrill we experienced similar to his when the tight string vibrated and sound was actually heard through the can next to my ear or next to my friend’s ear?

No matter what happens in life there is an upside of down. We sometimes have to search long and hard for it, but eventually, we’ll find it. It’s looking for that “silver lining” or the “bright side” as old song lyrics were crooned by singers of yesteryear. 

We are all very fortunate to be living today with all the modern technology. We receive instant gratification at times . . . and other times not, which does make us humble . . . and we learn that sometimes things don’t work out as easily as we’d like it to . . . but there is always an upside of down.

Thanks for stopping by and reading this blog post. I hope this phrase has made you think about your life and perhaps the clouds have parted a bit to bring some sunshine into the darkness you may be experiencing. There are always things to bring us down and to turn us upside down, but I prefer to see the upside of down . . . but . . . being upside down may give us a new perspective . . . something else for me to think about . . .