Do you control your possessions, or do they control you?

If we did but know how little some enjoy of the great things
that they possess, there would not be much envy in the world.
-Edward Young


I knew a man once who earned a great deal of money and who had all the trappings of a "good life"--at least, all the trappings that money could buy.  The house, the collectible car, the clothing, the expensive vacations, etc., etc., etc.  Unfortunately, this man was very unhappy.  He didn't enjoy anything that he had.  Rather, he stressed about it all.  The car stayed locked inside of a climate-controlled garage so that there would be no risk of scratches.  The house remained a showcase--there were entire rooms blocked off so that there wouldn't be any footprints in the carpet.  Eventually, he ended up having several surgeries for stress-related illnesses, and none of what he possessed could help him to recover.

I have quite a few possessions, but I try to make sure that they're things I can enjoy--books to read, movies to watch, music to listen to, bookcases to keep the books on.  But when I look about myself right now, I see a wonderful table that I bought at a thrift store for $20, a bookcase that I built myself very inexpensively, an inexpensive couch and chair that we absolutely love.  I don't think that everything should be bought as cheaply as possible, but I know from experience that more expensive does not equal better.  We enjoy our possessions--we make full use of them and when we're done with them, we give them away to someone else who can use them.

I don't envy people with lots of possessions for two reasons:  first, having lots of possessions means a lot of work in maintaining them, and I have better things to do than to maintain possessions; and second, many of the people who focus on getting things constantly need more things, and they never really enjoy the things they already have.

Look around at your possessions.  Enjoy them.  If they don't fit you any more, get rid of them.  You'll be doing yourself a great favor when you establish a healthy relationship with the things you possess, instead of letting them control you, your thoughts, and your actions.