Is it just me?

Why must I continuously give
evidence that I am not a robot? How
many times a week must I solve silly
puzzles, figure out distorted phrases
and images just to prove that I am a
human?
Just to prove that I am Jeanne from
Planet Earth, meaning no harm. Not
a Bot. Not a Bit. Nor a Bite. Just
Jeanne.

There’s nothing artificial about my intelligence. Whatever intelligence I
may have acquired has been the hard way. A mistake here, a retake there, another mistake, a do-over. Little lesson here. Big lesson there.

Invariably a bit of intelligence reveals itself, accumulates and situates itself in my brain. Each new piece of logic joins up with another. The lessons hang out together, merge and mingle. And, bam. My unique brand of intelligence reveals itself. Nothing artificial about that, right?

Just Jeanne, a human. Being human comes with its own challenges. For example, change does not come quite as easily for me as it does for my bot buddies.

New situation? New challenge? Just change the program. Robots change programs like we change our socks. Bots then get busy doing new stuff in new ways, adapting, adjusting to new and more challenging environments. I envy my bot buddies for that. I do.

Assuming you are not a robot, (and I won’t make you prove it), you may find yourself struggling with certain kinds of changes. For one thing, we humans have emotions. And old patterns of thinking. And, we wonder whether we even deserve whatever it is that we decide we want.

On one hand, we crave new adventures, lifestyles, and freedom. But…and this can be a very Big But…we strongly prefer certainty, predictability, stability, sameness.

We especially dislike when change is not our idea. Think 2020. Consider the numerous non-negotiable changes we had to make just to survive. Inevitably, things change. Inevitably, we are forced to adjust and adapt.

But what if we intentionally set out to strengthen our change-ability? Like when we commit to a workout routine to build our muscles, balance, and endurance. What if we intentionally increase our capacity to take risks and adapt to change?

What if we hang out with people who are intentionally letting go of worn-out routines and practices? People who are ready to explore new inner space? People who are ready to Just Keep Growing?

Assuming you are not a bot, this could be a lot of fun.