As I’ve grown older, I have become far more resistant to change than I ever believed I would. I’m not sure if that’s just a major sign of my getting old or if I’m just tired and need a break. Either way, I am aware of it, and I seriously do not like it. No — not the changes necessarily, just my hesitations.

As a younger person, I rarely had problems with change. Those changes I liked or felt necessary I adapted to and skipped right through to the next, no sweat. Those I didn’t like, I basically ignored. Today, that’s a lot harder to do. I think the Internet has made that more true for everyone than any newfangled discovery in the modern world. Even when you don’t want to know what’s happening in the rest of the world, it’s darn near impossible to ignore. Someone should invent a cyberspace button that simply shoots a person’s brain into “off” mode, yet still allows in whatever is pleasing to that individual. Everything else simply stays OUT. Okay, one that doesn’t require stimulants, alcohol or drugs.

Think about that a moment. Is there anywhere other than maybe an automobile that a person can go and feel complete and utter solitude? And even a car won’t work if you are driving it. In most homes, everyone has a TV, radio, computer, cell phone, residential phone and a doorbell. Invariably, one of the aforementioned is on, blaring at you whatever the hot information of the day may be, or ringing. Or at the very least in the back of your mind, you know that someone — friend or foe — can at any given time charge right into wherever you are.

Personally, I have decided to start spending more time in my car, with no radio on, my cell phone turned off, just listening to my favorite Beatles album/disc until I’m ready to rejoin the rest of the world. So, anyone with hints on how to decorate a garage, send me an email.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and I hope you, too, find a special place for some moments of soothing, quiet self-reflection. Every working brain needs it.