A post from earlier today pushed me down this train of thought. Bear with me, if you will. There is much to be said about an individual’s progress, and how ultimately inner growth supersedes external success, to an extent. The question I have pertains instead to the extent and meaningfulness of external, societal progress, and I think the same applies.

By external societal progress, I am not referring to the social aspects of improved equality, but tangible technological advancements. We have medicine, surgery, computers, the internet, AI, rocket ships, and a million innovations in between that we take for granted. Certainly, technology has helped reduce mortality (though much of this is actually just due to access to clean water and sanitation rather than any of the fancier innovations) and improved quality of life.

But, I can’t help but to wonder, is life truly “better” today than it was 100, 500, 1000, 10000 years ago? Is society as a whole “better” than it was? The short answer is, of course, yes, because the infrastructure we now have makes life not only more convenient but significantly more livable. But is there an extent beyond which this is no longer true? Have we, somewhere along the path, reached a threshold, where progress from here-on-out is really, just, extra? A cherry on top, or a whole jar full, at that?

This is not by any means meant to suggest the futility of further technological advancement, but to put it into perspective. When I go down these trains of thought, I always come back to realizing all that really matters is being kind to yourself and one another and doing what we can to reduce suffering. Everything else is gravy.