Monday, August 25, 2014

Scared to let go........

Why is it that we, as a species, cling to our possessions?

What have we come to, that we value ourselves in line with what we own?

Bigger houses, bigger cars, better vacations, better TV, newest cellphone....... The list never ends. Problem is that there is always something better, and so we are never satisfied, always looking to buy the next thing that will make us "happy". But really, happiness comes from what you are inside, not what you own. You are born with nothing and go out the same way. Our our death beds, will we all be wishing we had only bought the newest phone, the brightest TV, the bigger house ??

It's hard to let go of that, the fact that our possessions do not define who we are or how "successful" we have become. But I am letting go. I have learned to value myself by what I am, not what I have. It isn't easy though. I have been the person who based my success on what I had, always wanting the newest, best and biggest, but that part of life is mostly over now. It rears it head now and again, the feeling of wanting 'whatever' because what I have isn't good enough, but I can usually talk myself down. Consumerism is an ugly monster.

What I value now are my relationships, both with people and with nature. I value what I have to offer the world, what I can do to make things better. Better for my family, better for my friends and better for the planet. It's not an easy road to walk. Sometimes, I am thought of as a little strange, but that's OK. In this culture, maybe I am. It doesn't make it wrong though, far from it.

But I am scared to let go of my possessions? Yes I am, but I know they don't define me, so on I go.

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