Mildred Lisette Norman (a.k.a. Peace Pilgrim) was one of those rare people who practiced what she preached. At the age of 45, she started walking across the U.S. with only the clothes on her back and the few things in her pocket. She carried no money and wouldn’t ask for food or shelter. She continued walking and speaking about peace and simplicity until she died at the age of 73.
“Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them! There is great freedom in simplicity of living. It is those who have enough but not too much who are the happiest. Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.” (Peace Pilgrim)
Some people are focused on acquisition and accumulation, others on preservation of what they already have. Neither brings peace. The more we have, the more we have to lose. Protecting, preserving, and maintaining our possessions can become just as much an obsession as acquiring new things. And, it’s not just material things that we can be possessive about; we can also get fixated on intangibles such as our relationships, our reputations, or our accomplishments.
We spend our resources caring for, protecting, updating, cleaning, fixing, moving, and rearranging what we own--without realizing that there has been a transfer of ownership--our possessions have become the Master. When our belongings dictate our choices, then they have mastery over us. Our possessions now possess us.
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