The coffee in my office is wonderful. The coffee maker is old, but oh that coffee! I have a newer, fancier coffee maker at home, like new, and the coffee from my maker is pretty good too. Maybe I should replace the office coffee maker with my newer, fancier model. I'd be doing everyone a favor, right? Sometimes we just never know what impact replacing something good for something better will have until after its done.
A case can be made for newer is better. For the past 100 years everything that came before, was replaced by newer, faster, bigger, powerfuler, (I know, spelling) and any other "-er" you would like. Our lives are easier, safer, longer, and of course, productiver. Where would we be today if hundreds of talented and inventive people before us, hadn't tried to create something better. Railroads, Highways, Interstates, Air Travel, Space Travel and now the Internet. Every generation brings a new giant leap into the future.
But does this "better is always better" philosophy translate over to our social lives and our families? It's easy to image young people today, entering the work force and become new home owners, filling their houses with everthing that is newer, bigger, faster, and "powerfuler" than their parents. What would life be like without our ice makers and DVD players? By the time they recover from the down payment, their new car is already outclassed by one that has OnStar, and electric folding seats. How did we ever survive without XM radio, Broadband, and smart phones?
I love gadgets. I love food to taste good with half the calories. I like non-intrusive medicine. But is this emphasis on "better" causing us to lose appreciation for all that is "good" in our lives? Are we content with our partner or bitter because we think we could do better. New York and Hollywood sure think we can all do better, and markets everything from beer to dog food, with the theme that our lives just aren't good enough. Sexy guys and gals interrupt our favorite shows, and suggest that we should be in that picture. It may be a nice escape for a moment or two, until we look in the mirror. (I really need a "better" weight loss plan).
I am by no means above reproach when it comes to lasting relationships. I thank God, that my daughter has a wonderful mom and step father. And I think I'm a pretty good dad as well. But I know the pressure is on from all quarters to "upgrade" our lives, in all aspects. Wherever the source of our discontent, trading in the old coffee pot just for the sake of something with more buttons and bells, something a little prettier, is to ignore the reason we have the coffee pot in the first place. If the coffee is good, why risk dumping the old coffee maker and hurting those around you. When you consider what your mornings would be like with no hot coffee at all, that old pot begins to look pretty good. If you waste your time thinking about "better", you're apt to focus on all the things that your present relationship is "not" instead of appreciating all the "good" things that it is now. We all could improve, but an obsession with how things could be better, is a crack that will almost always crumble a relationship.
Strangly enough, all this seems biblical at times: where we're asked to not concern ourselves with the outside of the cup, but rather concern ourselves with what goes inside. When it comes to conveniences, and gadgets, I can easily be contented with what works and has worked for years. In good times, when the old things fail, new gadgets are fun to accumulate. But people are not gadgets, and when you're blessed with good friends and good family, the very thing that can destroy "good", is "better". I hope we will take stock this Valentine's Day of all the "good" in our lives, especially our friends and family.