By JOHN O. ANDERSEN
9/12/01

"There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord." Abraham Yehoshua Heschel


Discovering nature can be a good way to get over possession addiction

John Lennon once said "possession isn't nine-tenths of the law, it's nine-tenths of the problem."

I couldn't agree more.

As a society, we're addicted to possessions. This addiction is costing us way too much. It consumes a big chunk of our life (like 40+ of our best years) working to earn money to feed our habit. It contributes to pollution. It depletes non-renewable resources. And it distracts us from other potentially more worthwhile pursuits in life.

Many of us are conditioned to believe happiness is in possessing, in owning. We need to reverse that conditioning.

Here are three ways to do that:

1. SEE YOUR COMMUNITY'S TREASURES AS YOUR OWN

With a change of consciousness, you could think of the local library as your book collection, the art museum your private gallery, the zoo your pets, the woods your living room, the night sky your entertainment center, the lake your swimming pool, the park your backyard, the city your study room.

Sure, you'll need a few basic possessions at home, and a roof overhead to keep you dry, but as soon as you can mentally include the treasures of your local community on your list of assets, you may find a diminished need to augment or even have a "private collection."


Our tomato plants in the garden space a kind neighbor generously lends us

2. LEARN TO CELEBRATE WITHOUT MATERIAL GIFTS

There's no reason why we can't celebrate holidays, weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries without material gifts. Why not spend Christmas taking a train trip with the family? For a child's birthday, give an experience rather than a toy. Write a poem for an anniversary. Perform a song. Read aloud together. Play games. Go on walks. Reminisce.

Children who grow up with such traditions of celebrating, may not ever see the need for material gifts in order to have a good time. And chances are, they won't feel deprived if they have fewer things than others.

3. AWAKEN DORMANT INTERESTS

We all know true happiness doesn't come from money or things. But sometimes we act as if it does. We devote far too much of our energy seeking material things, reserving too little for the care of our interior life.

Revive your old hobbies and interests, the ones you had before the pressures of the world relegated them to the backburner. This might be a certain low-paying, but highly soulful career, a childhood hobby, or playing a musical instrument.

What you gain from doing that favorite pastime again, could be several magnitudes greater than what possessions give you. Perhaps it will fill you with more joy than you can even imagine.



BREAKING FREE

Possession addiction enslaves us. Our cultural conditioning makes it very tough to even see, let alone overcome it. But it can be done. The trick is first to realize the need to own things is at the root of many of our problems.

Once we let go and begin finding our pleasures in the riches which can't be purchased, we may discover just how much we've been missing all along. And that may give us the prod we need to finally start living on a truly grand scale.