I am all for the next new gadget, I love it. But I often don’t stop and think about what I am replacing and losing when the next new big thing comes along.
God has used my daughter to teach me a lot in this area. She is an old-school soul. I often find her listening to records (yes, actual records) of music from the ’40s and ’50s. She is much more about traditions from year to year than I ever was and she doesn’t jump on board with every new thing that comes out.
As soon as I see something new, I immediately think it must be needed. A new TV, a new blender, a new automatic bathroom cleaner. What could be better than that?
But what lessons am I no longer learning? If I have an automatic bathroom cleaner, have I lost the value of the hard work that it takes to do jobs that aren’t pleasurable and I don’t want to do?
Isn’t that what life is about? We invent things to make our life easier, more comfortable? I’ll tell you, I never want to go back to doing laundry with a washboard and hanging it on the line to dry. But when do we hit that point where it’s all comfort and no work? When do we officially turn into the people in WALL E that sit in chairs all day long because there is not a need to do anything anymore?
How do we balance innovation and hard work? It’s not a question I can answer but it is a question I can keep asking myself.
When I get a brand new digital camera and can take millions of photos, am I forgetting to cherish the few special pictures that are irreplaceable?
When we get self-cooking robots for dinner are we going to lose the art of cooking? And more than that, are my kids going to lose the sense that mom or dad is loving them and taking care of them by cooking them a meal?
I will continue to love new tech, new gadgets and the comfort and ease that they bring. But I will strive to hold on to the values and maybe not be so quick to jump from now on.