A good cup of coffee... again

Well, I apparently needed some humility or something. My apologies to Gregory, who had replied to my Friday post. Apparently, when trying to get rid of my double-post, I eliminated your comments as well. This is maddening--but that's not a huge jump for me, I suppose.
Anyway, since I was having trouble with the posting function yesterday, I saved the text of that post in a text file in my system. So, once more:

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A Good Cup of Coffee

This is today's Garfield strip. Long-time readers have seen the same thing happen to Garfield in times-past with espresso, and if I dug around I could probably find it.
Though Garfield tends to be about over-indulgence and laziness, he seems here to find pleasure in one of the simpler joys of life. He's sharing a delightful experience with a friend. And, contrary to his typical role as fuzzy orange glutton, he is sharing the joy of one cup of coffee--not 3 or 4 pots full! There is something wonderful in the simplicity of enjoying a cup of coffee, or a sunrise/sunset, or a walk in a park, or a good book, or listening to music. I find myself inundated with the world of possibilities provided to me by the possession of small green pieces of paper (thanks, Douglas Adams.) There is a constant drive to own the latest, fastest, most powerful hi-tech item on the market/ CD/ DVD/ other gizmo. An item I might enjoy just as well at a lower price a few months down the road. Or perhaps, I might come to my senses and figure out that I didn't really want it that badly. Now, I'm no Luddite or Puritan prude. I've no problem with spending money on any of the aforementioned items, and I have done so, impulsively--more often than should--and maybe that's the point.
There just seems to be an inherent discontent built into the ownership of some items. I own this movie on VHS, but now I need to own it on DVD. I have the DVD, but now there's a director's cut. I own the director's cut, and now there's an extra-special, ultimate collector's edition, the extras of which I will probably only view once, because what I really enjoy is the movie. And, as the technology updates, I'll soon be like the guy with his collection stored on Betamax or 8-tracks. I'll be behind!
My computer is slow and inefficient compared with what they're selling today. That one will be out-of-date as soon as I purchase it, and I'll be once again hopelessly behind the times! Does my computer do what I want/need it to do? Sure, but if I ever decide to own this game or that program, I'll need to upgrade! Besides, my neighbor/ friend/ coworker has a better system, and I must keep up with...
Sunsets/sunrises; a cup of coffee; good conversation; an appreciation for nature; [insert your favorite simple pleasure here]: these are things that don't cost much (and most of them are free) and don't nag at you for an upgrade. They are timeless in their beauty, and easily shared without diminishment. Furthermore, they help to cultivate a spirit of contentment (unless the coffee's really awful) and an appreciation for some of God's finest gifts--you know, the ones that we often miss because we're busy pursuing that upgrade!

I apologize for my apparent hypocrisy here. I made a slanderous comment about a devotional/ inspirational email in yesterday's post, calling it "sugary," and then I write something like this. It's just what's on my mind after realizing how much I spend on unnecessary junk yesterday, when all I really meant to do was go grocery shopping. "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. But people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Tim 6:6-9