Possessions

To live a simple life, I need not give up my possessions. I need only give up the idea that there is a me who possesses them, or who is, or who can be, possessed by them. Then they are what they are and nothing more; they are no longer possessions; they can be discarded or kept accordingly, for their utility, their inspired craftsmanship, their energy, their beauty, their form, and also, when they have been received as gifts, for their association and meaning. Even if I choose to live with only a comb, a toothbrush, the clothes on my back, and a pair of sandals, that choice is a hollow one if I identify with it. Just as I cannot take this computer with me when I die, or the shelves of books in this room, I cannot take my sandals and comb. Neither can I take the idea of myself. In a cemetery, that idea exists only in the minds of those who wander among the stones.

May 7, 2021

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