Quite often I debate things in my mind.

I know, this is probably not a good habit. Debating one’s self in one’s own mind can lead to madness.

…and I probably have a touch of that.

My debate tends to almost always be a similar one; old or new?

I have a few hobbies and these hobbies include products that, while being part of the focal point of the hobby, are truly only a mechanism for the hobby. With bikes it is ultimately about riding. With guns it is ultimately about shooting.

However, the debate that often sets up in my mind around old verses new is typically driven by want. Do I want to keep what I have and continue to tinker with it or do I want a new shiny.

Function is part of this debate and, as we often do in life with many things that are far more important than a hobby, we begin to believe something has become functionally compromised.

Now it would be easy to just focus upon the mechanical in this thought process. In that it is easy to convince one’s self that, let’s say, a motorcycle with 70,000 miles could be questionable from a mechanical standpoint. Or a gun that has seen thousands of rounds might begin to malfunction. Not that they have, but they might.

This is where an old wrench and shade tree gunsmith like myself grabs his tools and a few fresh parts and does what one like me does; preventive maintenance or parts upgrades/rebuilds.

This is something that has given me quite a lot of joy over the years. Tinkering around with things mechanical. Some would say I have even gotten good at it, although I typically feel quite lacking in right proper knowledge.

That is probably why repairs typically cost twice what I think they will … breakage.

Anyhow, we have also become a society who uses the same debate when it comes to many other things in life even relationships.

Old ends up feeling stale and dated. The new shine is gone from what we have, the luster and smell of new has faded. And we begin looking around at the new shinys.

We want the thrill of new not the normality of old. Something that runs faster, is more comfortable, has more options.

But the old does the same thing. On the motorcycle it still gets me there. On the range it still punches holes in paper. In life the old relationships hold greater value, because of one very valuable element;

They have molded to us.

The seat fits us properly, the grip is seasoned to our hand, the relationship has grown into something lasting and symbotic.

Yea, new feels good. Feels fun. Feels fast, Feels …. New.

But the seasoning of age and familiarity creates a bond and a value that is too easily overlooked.

For me this most often comes in the form of wanting a new bike. Thinking that the many miles on the trusty steed in the garage have rendered it obsolete. But trusty is what it has become. I know it. I understand it. I can work on it.

As I began writing this I just thought about how often we are guilty of doing the same with those in our lives. Not valuing the “trusty” in those steeds who surround us in the fields of life.

As I age I am really thankful for the old in my life.