What did we do before (_______)?

Someone very close to me recently posed the question 'What did we do before (_______)?'  Humans seem to be wired to constantly strive to build better tools, going from sharpened stones and petroglyphs on cave walls, to lasers and smart phones in the matter of a few thousand years.  Barely enough time for the universe to blink. 

What we did before (_______) was that we had realistic expectations based on the world as it was at that moment.  Waiting for letters to come in the mail because this was the only way to send written messages person to person.  If you were not home when someone called, they had to keep trying until you were home because mobile phones and voicemail did not exist.  Examples too numerous to list if you look at the whole of human history.

What did we do?

The more pressing question is what would we do if these things ever went away? 


    

Let the little things lie.

We all can easily get hung up on the little things that do not go right in our lives, as if we could see 'perfect' while we are standing smack dab in the middle of 'above average' or 'excellent'.  Today is Christmas and my day has been relaxing, fun and filled with love and family togetherness.  As I sit and ponder the day, my mind wants to rewind to the worst part of my day - having my thumb viciously attacked by the hood on my wife's vehicle while I was attempting to refill the windshield washer fluid.  It appears that the hydraulic pistons that are supposed to keep the hood up when it is opened are only there for show at this point and they allowed gravity to have its way with the hood as soon as I let it go.  Thus, hood+gravity+thumb in the path of hood=bruised and in pain.  Truth be known, I spoke to the hood (and indirectly to those who designed this particular automobile) with some words that were quite the opposite of the holiday spirit.  Now, every time I use this thumb (for example, when I am typing), it hurts some and reminds me that the folks in Detroit should have received some coal today.  Of course it does not take a genius to realize that letting this small and ultimately inconsequential event sour my whole day would be the epitome of foolishness.  Yet, we all have this the ability to allow this to happen.  If today were not Christmas, there is a good chance that I would make sure that this is topic number one when asked 'how was your day?'  But, having thought about it enough to write this blog, I will resist, and focus on the many ways that this was a great day. 

Not perfect, but good enough to let the little things lie.