Materialism on the Path

      As I meander my way down my path today I find myself thinking about how things have changed and the effects these changes have on society. I recently came across a quote etched into a tree that read “People are made to be Loved and Things are made to be Used. There is so much confusion in this World because People are being Used and Things are being Loved.” I see a lot of truth in this statement and it worries me.

When I look around at all the people I know, I see too many that put a higher value on the things they own than on the people around them. I wonder why this is, and how it happened and a startling thought occurs to me. Perhaps people put their love into objects because they have been hurt too often by the people around them. Maybe their solution to being hurt by other people was to invest their love into something that could not stab them in the back.

      This realization is even sadder than the original problem. How can you convince people to put their love into something that is bound to hurt them instead of a material object that could possible outlive them and never cause them any pain?

     Although I know the answer, and it seems simple enough, the solution is not so easily realized. People who value material objects over people, do not even necessarily realize their reasons for doing so, and if they were faced with it would not see the logic in my answer.

      I believe that loving and trusting in someone is an investment, and like an investment, you may lose what you put into it, but you may also earn more than you ever imagined. In life some people will be losers and never return the love you invest in them, but ultimately you tried, and took the risk.

      When you invest your love into an object you can NEVER get anything more than you put into it. It will never bring you anymore happiness then the day you first laid eyes on it, and it will never love you back.

I pause on my path and decide to act on my own revelations, actions speak louder than words. I am going to empty out my pack and only return items I need, or that I love because they remind me of a person who has been a win for me and returned my love.

      It is important to periodically take stock of what we have and what we value to make sure we are not wasting our investments. Never dwell on the losers you have encountered, no matter how many there have been, remember the winners and all the love and happiness they have brought to your life!