My husband and I share the same office, a rather small one at that. Our desks face in different directions, but it’s easy for me to toss questions over my shoulder at him. Which I do often.

Why is the Internet so slow? Is it slow for you, too? What network are you on? What does this dialogue box mean? How do I make this photo my featured image? What happened to my photo library, I can’t find it anywhere?

You can imagine I’m a right royal pain in the glutes.
I used to be annoyed with him for the cross I bear, which is being technologically handicapped. Of course, my annoyance was misplaced, and when I realised my attitude wasn’t good for our relationship, I got annoyed with my computer instead.
You’ll recognise right away this was also an unhelpful approach.
The yoga concept of ahimsa – non-harming – usually is applied to situations where we need to restrain ourselves from hurting another. Most of us wouldn’t intentionally harm another person, but a further refinement of ahimsa is being sensitive to any of the impact of our behaviours on other people, animals, and the planet.
So, I’ve come to see that my frequent interruptions of Daniel’s work with my computer questions are disrespectful of his time and concentration. I’ve made a promise to myself that I withhold my difficulties until he is free or says it’s okay to interject.
Something else has happened. I’ve had to figure some things out myself. I don’t know that I’ve necessarily discovered many solutions, but I notice that Daniel doesn’t always know the right answers either.
I can pass on his favourite bit of advice to anyone else out there who’s computer-challenged: When in doubt, reboot.