Having No Possessions Though Immeasurable Wealth
“Having no possessions though immeasurable wealth” – an excerpt from the song Have It All by Jason Mraz
Six years ago, the world was in the middle of the decluttering craze, and I definitely heard these words through that lens. I wanted to have that sleek home with minimal possessions. I thought that would bring me to this enlightened stage where I would appreciate what I already have.
But I interpret the “No possessions” part in a slightly different way now. I don’t know if we really “own” anything anymore. When we buy an object using money, we get this illusion that what we just bought became our possession – something we get to hold onto forever. In reality, though, we don’t actually get to hold on to anything forever.
Things break, gets used up, or worn out. Other things get lost, whether by carelessness or by an unexpected natural event. There are very few things we actually hold onto until our passing. …And then what? We still don’t get to take anything with us once we die. At best, we get temporary custody of the items that come into our lives.
So, no matter how many things are surrounding you right now, you have no possessions. Initially, that thought was triggering and made me feel empty. But once I recognized that it was just a fear created by my good old survival instinct, suddenly I saw abundance.
When none of us own anything, we all share everything. We all share this immeasurable wealth. All of us have access to everything in the universe.
Certainly, having money makes it easier to access the items. But it’s not the only way. We’ve all received items in other ways too.
Things take shape out of a great big pool of natural resources, and they go back to becoming resources eventually. None of it is ever ours. So, let’s just enjoy the time we do get to spend with them.