Giving Up

We have sold our house which we had been living in for the last 12 years. It is a beautiful house which you either love or don't. It is able to evoke emotions in you because of the way it reveals itself to you. It begins with a most unassuming entrance which greets you. Just a car porch which overlooks a narrow path below that leads you to the garden at the back of the house. In fact, you did be quite unimpressed with the house at first glance because you cannot even see a single window from the main entrance. And windows are usually one of the attractive features of homes. The house was once fully covered with ivy. Right up the walls reaching to almost the roof. The house was just like the kind you would romance about in books like The Secret Garden and pictures of ye old in England. It evoked an immediate response from my wife on our first visit to view the house when we were looking for a home two years after we got married. Her enthusiasm confirmed that this was her dream house when she entered and found that it had several split levels. The master bedroom has a balcony with the most glorious view of lush greenery...
Now, it is no longer our dream house. I didn't find it difficult to let go. I have learned to let go. It was about the time after we used to visit art galleries buying original paintings by local artists and attending carpet auctions for persian rugs. The kind of activities which usually went to making a house a home. I found that there was always another painting we liked and would yearn to have. And of cost it meant spending more money. Where would all this end? And later I came across some words of wisdom which gave the message that we do not have to own everything that we like. It has a lot of significance if you think about it more deeply. We have so many desires, to acquire, the need to have and own. And with those desires comes our feelings of yearning and disappointments if we find that the things we wanted were subsequently sold to someone else. We cleared stuff from the storeroom over the weekend. There were some things there which I did not even remember buying. There were a few antique items including a brass poster bed, a few teak wood frame mirrors and a couple of Chinese woven baskets with beautiful pictures of celestial beings. When my wife asked what we should do with these things. I said without hesitation to give them away. The effort we took in the fervent search for these things never came to my mind.
My daughter said the next thing to clear was the shoe cupboard. She said mom had so many shoes. I told her that my Friday night Vedanta teacher once said that you have got too many of one thing if you can't count them. Kay counted her shoes. Yes she had less than five pairs. It is only when we grow older that we keep buying. Not giving any thought if we really needed another pair of shoes, another shirt or dress..and finding out later that we no longer have the desire to own those things which we had bought.
The practical wisdom is that the desire we have of things is only momentary. Be less acquisitive and like what the yoga teacher said for the theme of the year - 'Travel light and expand your mind'. You will have less baggage to tie you down. Save yourself some money and not be disappointed if you do not own something which you like. That feeling of disappointment shall pass.