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Why we Don't Share Our Possessions?
We teach our children to share
their toys. We tell them that it builds character and increases
their fun.
But as
adults, do we share our possessions, our tools, and even our
helpfulness with our neighbors? Often not. Many of
us--"once burnt, twice shy"--have decided not to loan anything
to others, and unwittingly have become the victims of an
increasingly material, less open, lifestyle.
Years ago you probably loaned your tools or books out to
friends without second thought. After some of these items were abused, lost,
or not returned on time, you may have decided never to lend out your things
again. A
true story.
Once we (any of us) have decided not to share our own
possessions, whenever we need something--even for a one-time use--we immediately
go out and buy it. After we buy it, we use it for a little bit and then put
it away, hung on a wall or setting in a shelf somewhere. After that, it
becomes rarely used. Oddly enough, the same item probably hangs
on the wall of half of the houses down the block, almost never used
there, either.
In the long run, our possessions keep piling up around us. One
might argue that because of them we constantly need to build bigger houses
(or clutter up our present ones) just to store them.
As one we pile up more and more possessions, we also need to
become more and more protective of our property so that our possessions (our
new concept of "self") don't disappear.
Our possessions can cause our houses to become social
fortresses, replete with moats, hemming in a truly free life. Over time, our
lives often become more separated from that of our neighbors, and we become
more distrustful of all other people in society.
Living as self-imposed prisoners in our little fortresses, we are neither true friends to our friends, nor neighbors to those who live near us.
Little do we know that in taking this attitude, we have
destroyed much of the meaning of life and much of the joy of society. We
become ever more dependant upon possessions to give us happiness, and
less capable of the old-time concept of enjoying our neighbors.
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