I was in the store the other day and saw a hat with a patch on it that read, “Leave It Better Than You Found It.” Some might say that is a great philosophy to carry through life, even a motto by which to live. It would imply that we don’t over-consume, that we treat people and the environment well, and that we honor and respect the resources and opportunities that we have been given. But I also think we need to be careful.
Leaving it better than you found it makes sense in terms of picking up a few pieces of trash on hike through the park, or offering up your time to help kids in need, but what about when we take it too far? There are many systems in place, put there by nature, that are perfect. The human ego often steps up, thinking it can, in fact, make things better. We start to meddle, making change that appears to improve the thing we think we can make better, but do so at the expense of something else.
For example, there was a group of missionaries working with a remote tribe. They noticed that the indigenous people cooked inside their huts. This led to the huts becoming heavily smoke-filled. Suspecting that this smoke was adversely affecting their lungs and breathing, they taught the people about venting the smoke out of their homes. They taught them how to build a chimney so that the smoke could escape the hut.
I am sure these missionaries were happy with their efforts, and proud knowing that they improved the living situation of these people. They were leaving it better than they found it. One problem… the smoke in the huts kept the mosquitos out, which protected the people from malaria that the mosquitos transmitted. So… the missionaries’ efforts to improve the lives of the indigenous people backfired.
There are countless examples of us “making things better,” only to find out that our efforts led to big problems. In nature, the system runs in cycles, in balance, and there is harmony. Yes, gazelles get eaten by lions, and that’s sad, but if we keep the lions from catching those gazelles, the lions and their cubs starve to death. Without us intervening, there is a balance… a natural balance… that allows for a certain number of gazelles and a certain number of lions, to live and die, allowing both to flourish.
One of the most obvious examples where meddling can have consequences is in healthcare. Our efforts to fix health conditions usually focuses on treating symptoms, not the cause. Medications rarely correct conditions, but aim to manage them. While this creates a steady and ongoing stream of income for the drug companies, it usually ends with the need for higher doses of that medication, a stronger medication, or more medication to treat another condition caused by that first medication. What appears at first to have left it better than they found it, often turns out to have caused more harm than good. (Over 100,000 people die each year as a result of their properly prescribed medications. Yikes!)
My whole philosophy on health, healthcare, and wellness, is to work WITH the body… to maximize its incredible design and function… and support the amazing bodily systems we have. If we give the body what it needs, and avoid what is bad for it, it does the rest.
There has been a strong push to make things better. And I believe it is a great philosophy. But I also believe it is a slippery slope. We need to tread lightly and be careful. Genetically modified salmon, growing meat in a petri dish, and trying to replace the human experience with artificial intelligence sound impressive, involve advanced science, and may appear to some that we are leaving it better than we found it, but we can’t outsmart mother nature, trick the natural cycles, or play God, without big consequences.
I don’t say this to discourage improvements and advancements. I am a huge fan of invention, science, experimentation, and innovation. I say we strive to make life better, enhance the human experience, and strive for optimal health and living, but in lieu of our historical blunders and screw-ups, maybe rather than trying to leave it better than we found it, we start with a simpler slogan, like… Just Don’t Screw It Up!