Things

“The best things in life … aren’t things.”

I saw this saying written on a decorative piece of wood recently.

It immediately struck me as profoundly true.

We are a society obsessed with having possessions – physical things. The late George Carlin had a funny routine about people having “stuff.” “Stuff” is just another word for “things.”

We all know we can’t take “it” with us when we go. “It” is another word for “things.”

It’s comforting to have things: a TV set; a radio; a bookcase filled with books; a digital camera.

However, things give us a skewed concept of what life is all about. Jesus told his disciples to give up their possessions and follow him. Admittedly, that’s tough to do about 2,000 years later. In more ways than one. In today’s materialistic society, a person’s worth seems to be measured by what he has, not by what he is.

But just as the ancient Chinese saying informs us that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, each of us must start by divesting ourselves of at least some of our material possessions. Isn’t that why ebay was created?

I realized this may sound like a radical philosophy, especially coming from a pack rat such as me, but just remember one of my favorite expressions is: “I’m like a sign. I point the way, but I don’t go there myself.”