Ownership & Its Hidden Slavery!
Human beings have a singular aptitude to miss frame many concepts and notions, and ownership is one of them. Somehow, we've convinced ourselves that we own things, therefore, self-attributing the honorific title "Owner." In my humble opinion, as opposed to considering ourselves "owners" of anything, the most suitable title should be "Temporary Keepers." Note that everyone comes to this earth "empty-handed." This world contained everything before the birth of any human being. At birth, there is no single human being who came with anything besides their naked body. At this fragile and tender age, everyone receives care, protection, help, and everything from their biological and extended families. This dependency state remains valid until someone receives something in exchange for their effort. This is when the ownership entitlement starts. At this point, we learn that we can accumulate many things in exchange for our efforts. Unfortunately, this is also when we lose sight of the most valuable life lesson. And the lesson is that everything exchanges hand temporarily, and we are never actual owners. What appears to us as ownership is temporary guardianship until the object either perishes, exchanges hands, or is abandoned. Therefore, whatever document is issued to us as the owner is a "temporary legal keeper" certification. No one has ever owned anything eternally because nothing material is eternal, and everything belongs to creation where it came from. Everyone can observe that everything materially formed follows an immutable evolution cycle starting from conception, formation, maturity, and ending with disintegration. This is true even for the human body, which eventually disintegrates (returning to dust). Everything that disintegrates returns the fundamental elements previously assembled into a form (object) to nature where they came from. The immutable evolution cycle is beyond human control. Human beings are generally powerless observers of many transformations on this earth. Sometimes, these transformations destroy human possessions, while no "legal ownership title" can prevent the formed object from undergoing its disintegration (destruction). To human considerations, a natural transformation is a destruction. Think about all the natural transformations that nature goes through, transformations that humans have labeled as "catastrophes" due to losses of the things they believed they owned. When we start to believe that we own something, we create strong bonds with it, and a bond is an attachment or chain. Most people fully understand the sad meaning of chains, as these objects were used in slavery to prevent other human beings from experiencing the beauty of freedom. If you understand the horror of a physical chain, it must be easier to understand that "a chain is a chain," whether physical or not. There are noble attachments worth building and maintaining, but materialistic attachments are nothing short of slavery. Eventually, what you consider your property today, will be given to someone else tomorrow, whether willfully or unwillingly. I briefly mentioned the natural catastrophes where people unwillingly lose material possessions they rightfully held as temporary guardians. In this case, these possessions return to nature after complete disintegration. A willful separation from your temporary possessions happens when you gift, sell, or exchange with someone else. The ultimate separation occurs at death. This is when you must leave this earth the same way you came: "empty-handed." At best, the naked body that brought you to this earth takes you back with its last set of clothes that will eventually disintegrate and return to nature. This earth will contain everything after our death, like before and throughout our short journey, with or without us. If there is something that we can learn from this short article, material possessions and accumulations must not be the purpose of our earthly existence. These objects are temporarily bestowed on us to make life on earth more enjoyable. After us, others will have to enjoy it, and this "other" could even be your worst enemy. If you were not attached to anything, then it doesn't matter to whom the temporary material objects are transferred. Not being tied to material things sets you free, and being free shifts your mind from that of a loss to that of gratitude. You become grateful for the joy the objects contributed to your life and hopeful for the next temporary guardian to experience the same. Without vigilance, ownership can become a hidden slavery in which any materialistic individual enrolls. Being free helps you genuinely enjoy whatever comes into your life and anything that goes from your life.
Freedom is priceless, powerful, and beautiful. Go and enjoy life, but be free, both spiritually and physically!