to get is different than to keep

cátia, it is not a matter of no longer wanting what we finally got. the thing is, there is quite a difference between wanting to get something and wanting to keep something.

when you have something, you don't have to work to get it any more. instead, you might have to turn your energy into finding a way to keep that something with you. a love-based relationship is the best example for this (and perhaps this was what your post was referring to - not that it really matters): you're in love with someone, but you're not with him. then you'll do whatever you can in order to be with him. in this situation, people tend to be kinder, more compassionate, sometimes enigmatic - i guess everyone has his or her very own individual way to attract someone. after you got what you wanted, ergo, after you're with the one you loved, what happens? you stop fighting to get him to start fighting to keep him. according to some people this might be the difference between passion and love. i prefer to call it maturity.

(for example, when i started dating my girlfriend i seldom smoked when she was around - by my own choice, mind you, and not because she asked me to -. that's something unthinkable right now as we stand. but things have changed, we have shown more of ourselves to each other, and such a behaviour towards myself would not be correct)

so yes, when we finally get what we wanted we still want what we got. we want to keep it. at least until there's something that can replace it with a sense of being a new thing. ultimately that can explain why we eventually replace everything we have - from our underwear to our house, and even our friends (yes, friends are always replaceable). it's not that we don't want what we have any more; it's merely a matter of wanting something new all the time.

i know this might lack a bit of coherence, but to sum it up: to keep is different than to get. when you don't have something, you go and get it. when you do have something, you go and keep it. you cannot keep something you haven't got yet, as well as you can't let anything go if you haven't previously got it.