THE TYRANNY OF THINGS

I am trying to rule
over ten thousand things
which I thought
belonged to me.
All of a sudden
a doubt take wings:
Do they…
or could it be..?

A hardhanded hunch
in my mind’s ear rings
from whence
such suspicions may stem:
that if you possess
more than just eight things
then y o u
are possessed by t h e m

– A GROOK by Piet Hein

There’s a lightness which comes from having less stuff than comes from having more stuff. While it might seem (at least according to the ads) that the next great thing we buy, will make us happier, lighter, etc., etc., how is it that it doesn’t work out that way?

Less is more?

The stores advertise “less is less. more is more – it’s not complicated! Buy More!”

Just spend a little time dusting, organizing, protecting, maintaining, or even admiring all of the stuff around you. How does that feel?

Now, choose something that a friend has admired and give it to them. Or, pick something that you haven’t used in awhile and find someone to give it to. Now, how does that feel?

The poet Kahlil Gibran reminded us in the book The Prophet, that giving while we can enjoy giving is much enjoyable for everyone than leaving things in our will.

“Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors’.”

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