How would you cope if you lost all your possessions
Earlier this month, my wallet was
stolen while I was visiting Venice, Italy, for the very first time.
After dropping our suitcases off at the hotel, we had walked for a few
minutes when I took a city map out of my purse. In my excitement, I left
my purse unzipped and soon after my wallet was gone. I felt an
immediate sense of violation, disbelief, disorientation, and
disappointment at my carelessness.
Yet losing a wallet is chump change in light of significant losses, like those from the recent fires in northern California. But it does illuminate how a wallet or money, a car, a house, clothing, papers, books, and other mementos anchor our sense of self and well-being. “Things” are important for we create our world and home with them, they give us shelter and allow us to do so much.
Last week, I met a woman who lost all her possessions in the fire.
She reminded me that stripping away the trappings of life can put us in
touch with the deeper meaning of life. She wrote this to me: "I pray
that your day ahead is full of deep recognition and appreciation of the
simple things: the warmth of a hug given and received, nourishment and gratitude
for every bite of food, praise for each drink of clean water, the power
of your feet rooted into the earth and your spine oriented to the light
of the sun. It's when there's so little left that we can feel the true
power of the little that remains."
Let us remember that while “things” anchor us they also numb, encumber, and distract us. It's easy to lose sight of the cost to us, individually and collectively, of living in a world where shopping and acquiring is the focus of so much of our attention. Let us remember what is truly important as we encounter more and more insecurity and loss in the world. And if you lost it all, what would still remain of importance and value in your life?
Yet losing a wallet is chump change in light of significant losses, like those from the recent fires in northern California. But it does illuminate how a wallet or money, a car, a house, clothing, papers, books, and other mementos anchor our sense of self and well-being. “Things” are important for we create our world and home with them, they give us shelter and allow us to do so much.
Source: Noah Berger
Let us remember that while “things” anchor us they also numb, encumber, and distract us. It's easy to lose sight of the cost to us, individually and collectively, of living in a world where shopping and acquiring is the focus of so much of our attention. Let us remember what is truly important as we encounter more and more insecurity and loss in the world. And if you lost it all, what would still remain of importance and value in your life?
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