Do you own your things or do your things own you? I find myself pondering this as my husband reports that his bicycle was stolen from under our front porch today in broad daylight. There is a common mentality (and one that I previously had had) that surrounds acquiring material possessions and I have begun to realize that the more you own the more it owns you. You see the problem is this; when a person works hard to earn a substantial amount of money that is then spent on a costly item the item is deemed "valuable." With the title of a valuable possession you are now left to be it's care taker. It is your responsibility to tend to it and make sure that it remains in your possession (not stolen). With all of these added tasks of caring for your new purchase comes the undeniable stress that comes along with it. Today I was reminded, when a bicycle is purchased at a thrift store for $10 it carries worth... but not the type of worth that has you padlocking it up. Although you enjoy this bike, why would you stress about it being stolen or breaking? And let's be honest, no physical possession is really ours anyway. One day we will no longer have the breath to worry about the status of all our possessions. One thing that we will not have at the end of our lives are those wasted moments that we concerned ourselves with such petty and insignificant worries. When you have nothing (or little to nothing), you have nothing (or little to nothing)to loose. When you begin to put value in Sunday morning tickling matches with those little ones, that embrace that warms your entire being, or those moments that the stars are so bright that they take on a living presence... you are left to realize that there really is no value in any inanimate object. Quite liberating...
