Why Gratitude Is Not Based On ‘Things’
We like our stuff — no surprises there. Not only do we enjoy what we own, but we try to guarantee we will always have everything we own. So we insure them at replacement value, thinking, “How dare anyone to depreciate anything we have?”
And then, stage right enters the moth and rust to corrupt. Things wear out, like this “Blue Boy” L.A. beach T-shirt that’s so threadbare from hundreds of washings that it can’t even be used as a car rag. Then there’s the appliance failure of the month. The auto accident — that was the last thing we ever thought would appear on our Outlook-syncing smartphone calendar. (Where are all of our business contacts stored in there going to be eight years from now, anyway? Most of them weren’t around even three years ago.)
The damn car. The roof. The basement leaks. We need more insurance, just in case. This inventory of stuff — our stuff — is often the object of our gratitude, but also the object of fear.
Inventory of Things and Fear
The problem with seeking gratitude through an inventory management exercise is that Mr. Rogers already taught us that Mr. All-Mine was all wrapped up in himself and made for a pretty small package. Day after day it keeps coming to us that everything is temporary. We have it, and then we don’t. Our frantic race to keep what we have…
