Worldly possessions can provide us with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
But they can also be an unexpected source of intense stress and anxiety.
Just ask anyone who has had to pack up and move their belongings.
It’s at that point that many of us discover what it’s like to be possessed by what we own.
Hanging on to unused things can clutter up our lives, leaving less space for more important things like personal freedom.
That’s when we begin to understand what people mean when they speak of “being owned by our things.”
There comes a point where simply acquiring more stuff cannot bring lasting satisfaction.
The idea here isn’t that money is bad or material things are evil.
It’s an acknowledgement that possessions alone are not enough to give purpose to our lives.
Too much focus on acquiring material things transforms us into a slightly more well-adjusted version of Gollum whenever we start obsessing over our latest version of “precious.”
It sounds counterintuitive but learning to live well with less can help us find greater personal independence.
The stress of keeping up appearances to impress people we don’t even know can prompt us to consider apostatizing from our cultural religion of materialism.
We don’t have to become minimalists in order to live our best lives.
But those who are willing to downshift their lifestyle by focusing less on accumulating things will find a peace of mind and freedom that material success alone cannot give us.
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