Can I borrow that?

I had a friend who passed away a few years ago.

He was relatively well-off in his late 70's. Unfortunately, the last time I spoke to him was when he invited me to his home at the park's edge.

He told me how he came into money and that he and his wife donated most of what they made and took the rest to travel the world.

He paused at dinner and looked around at the beautiful things he and his wife had collected. Then he looked at me and said: "The craziest thing about it all is that I don't own any of this."

Confused, I asked him, "Well, who does own all of this?" He answered. "I don't know who does. I don't know if anyone does. I know that I'm borrowing everything while I'm here."

He passed away eight months later. His wife followed a month after.

I went home and looked at my clothes and realized that if something happened to me while I was out, nothing would happen to my clothes. They'd still be there, just like my computer, books, and junk in my drawer. So stuff will exist, even if I don't.

We often label ourselves and others based on what we have, but the truth is that we don't own anything. We're just borrowing it.

Don't attach yourself to possessions and job titles. Both can be swapped out like a shirt. So what do you have? You have this moment and the ability to experience it.

Anything else is merely a trick we use to identify with what's outside ourselves instead of doubling down on what's within.