Hi All :) .. Would the LOSS of all YOUR POSSESSIONS be the LOSS of YOUR HAPPINESS? :D?

Question

Explain your answer......
Be honest...thanks....... :)
>>>>
Thanks, for answering in advance! :-)

*Have a wonderful weekend*, ahead of you! :)

Thanks for sharing..............

Take care!
>>>>

Give it some thought....
>>>>
I will give you my answer, when the question is resolved...
>>>>>>

Thanks, Jason :)
>>>>

Debbi U, Happiness, is inside you...
You made not see it, at this time, but you will..when the time is right! .. I am shore about that :)
>>>

Sorry, not : "made", but "may".. My mistake.. :/
>>>>>

Thanks, Lynsbrc :)
>>>>

You're welcome, Charlie P :)
>>>>

Answer 1

Yet another question that goes straight to the marrow!

In 1978 we had a fire in our apartment on 82nd Street in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The experience was devastating. Everything we owned at that time meant something to us. Incredibly the fire was mysteriously strategic. It seemed that what was supposed to go went. And what was supposed to stay, stayed. The next day after we took stock of everything I called my best friend and described what had happened. I immediately started laughing. I laughed so hard I was in tears right in front of the Museum of Natural History. To my surprise a great deal of my laughter was happiness, joy, the release of energy that follows a good cleansing. This fire caused us to move to a better location and the start of a new journey. It heralded change. Prior to the fire we felt oppressed by the situation. It made us feel lighter. But I also lost my camera. That hurt for years. I could not replace it for 9 years.
Another thing that hurt was the theft of half my wet suit which I used for dinghy sailing. It was either police or fire department who stole that wet suit.

All the people in the brownstone were kind. The lawyer above us let us use his apartment during the day. Their kindness immediately started the renewal of happiness.

A few years ago a hurricane roared through our town. The Eye passed right over us so the winds came from the strong quadrant (East). It wiped out three hundred year old trees in the back. At the peak of the storm I experienced white terror. I was shaking. The violence was like nothing we have ever known before. It defined the term chaos. I did not know what to do as the trees started to crash down all around. I was certain the house would be demolished. I could not decide what to attempt to save. There were many of my own art pieces one of which had survived the 1978 fire. There was the computer full of all my recent research and writing. It was also full of my illustrations in Photoshop. I realized that I also cared about specific rare books that we could not afford to replace. So I just threw things in boxes and we took them to the basement to place them on tables in case of holes in the roof.

As it turned out we were spared. The houses around us were damaged and some suffered interior loss. I realized that had I lost my work I would have been traumatized for years. I realize that I had put so much into my work that its loss would have taken a chunk out of my happiness because I have not yet gotten that work out to the public.

So there are different types of sacrifice. I was not attached to the Zen Garden that took me 6 years to create. The hurricane wiped it out. I was not worried about the car or anything of that nature. But there are some irreplaceable photos the loss of which would eat away at some of my happiness. Loss of specific art pieces and a beautiful whale bone that I found on Southampton Beach, Long Island, in 1980, along with original writing material would definitely threaten my happiness.

However, in the end I do not identify my essence with possessions. The possessions represent labor; the investment of my whole self in what I love, believe and strive for.

Clearly, then, not all possessions are equal. The spirit can be refreshed after loss. There are all kinds sof possessions we can do without. But some possessions carry within them both function and emotional investment. It is difficult to predict how you will feel until it happens.

There are times when I wish I could go back to nothing - no possessions of any kind. I have been in that situation before. But it was not practical in the long run. But I miss it. I have even fasted on a number of occasions for 4 day intervals - water only. The feeling of liberation and bliss cannot be described and there is nothing that can replace bare feet on the good Earth, a calm, expanded mind breathing the good air as light bathes the heart and spirit with its nourishing warmth. This pure being, this essential consciousness of breathing with the greater expanse, cannot be replaced by any possession. Certain inner experiences that renew the flame at the heart of one's existence will always be superior to external possessions. But external possessions are practical and are endowed with emotional history, work, effort, pain. We are interlocked with them. In the end, losing ALL my possessions would be a trauma. But I think once I had made a new start I would feel refreshed. And I think happiness would return with a vengeance teaching me once again to say "I am". "I love". "I exist". "I will endure".

A very beautiful question Kimberly.

Answer 2

Provocative question. Thanks.

I sure used to think so.
Then it actually happened.
At first I was terribly depressed and lamented my loss.
I spent a lot of time wallowing in self-pity.
It took a while for me to finally realize that I didn't need "things" in my life to make me happy.
Things not only hadn't made me happy, they often got in the way, both physically and emotionally.
I begin realizing that "ownership" is an illusion.
Any "thing" you own can be taken away.
The only thing we can "own" is our thoughts.
I found myself enjoying the freedom I experienced.
Most of all it helped me to discover all the things that can't be owned but still help me to be happy.
Not only can I not own what brings happiness but those things aren't even something I can hold in my hands.

I remember wanting some thing really bad. If only I had ... that would make me really happy. Then I would get whatever it was and after the initial elation was over a mild disappointment always followed. The happiness I'd expected something to bring was only momentary. Much of the enjoyment of wanting something is based in the desire itself; not in the attainment. Now I find it sad when I go in a large department store like wally world and see all the stuff waiting to clutter up people's lives; objects of desire that can never be truly possessed. Even sadder are all the people in the store lusting for stuff they believe will make them happy. It never does.

At best, happiness is transient. No one is happy all the time. Everyone experiences blue periods, giddy moments, sad times, joy and pain. What we do inside ourselves with what we experience is all that counts. And experience is what we get from both events outside of ourselves and the thoughts and feelings we have on the inside. What you do with your experience, how you relate to your experiences and how you decide you are going to relate to them, completely determines whether you are a happy person or one just waiting for death to end your pain.

May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all sentient beings never be separated from the happiness that is without suffering.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment and hatred for those held close and distant.
--Buddhist prayer

Answer 3

Well, I wouldn't like it but I've been there before. I don't think it caused my life to be any more or less happy. I have a lot of stuff now but it doesn't seem to be what makes me happy. I think what makes me happy is that I don't let my stuff make me a different person because I know that it could all be gone in the blink of an eye and then where would I be? Back at the beginning again. Its only stuff.

Answer 4

I think that losing my books would be the only thing that would seriously upset me. I've led an 'other than happy' life so far and I have at least another four years before I can try anything dramatically different change this dull excuse for a life. Books are my escape from reality. Into a world of hopes, dreams, purpose, good people, etc. Losing those would really suck.

Answer 5

The loss of my posessions would not be the loss of my happiness.

There are several things that would make me really sad, at least temporarily, to lose. The first would be my photos because looking at them and remembering those people and events makes me happy. Then I would remember that the memories are still there, they could never be taken from me. The second thing to burn that would make me sad is my car, only because it would make my life a pain and make repurchasing my lost possessions much more of a hassle.

Answer 6

No way..

If I lost my material possessions, sure, I'd be so sad. I admit it, I will be so damn sad that maybe up to the point that I'll just sit alone and don't talk to anyone. But no, I wouldn't let myslef get caught up by that. It happened to me once, when someone at school stole my RAZR. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it back. All I'm thinking now is, whoever did steal it will get his/her own karma. AND, material things are replaceable. Things come and go, and so we have to accept that fact and move on, try to take a positive look at life. All of us will have our own redemption, someday. Only God knows.

:-)

Answer 7

In your scenario my family is safe so it is just the loss of all my possessions. Usually people say photos, but my family and friends would replace them.

The only thing that I would be devastated about would be a tiny handmade cabinet piece my husband made for me for my 15th birthday. Its a only a set of drawers in pine, nothing special, or valuable but it was his first present ever to me. I have sold and given away a lot of my stuff already but never that. So if I lost all my possessions (except that) no, I would be fine.

Answer 8

Well, I would mourn the loss for a bit, But I am a "cup half full "guy, so I would soon be looking forward to getting some new stuff. Material doesnt really produce happiness. only convenience, I would probably miss a few things, tho. irreplacable things, like family photos, my music, etc.

Answer 9

The loss of all my possessions would not be the loss of my happiness. I would be sad, especially to lose my dogs and my pictures, but happiness doesn't come from possessions. Lots of people buy things to make them feel better, but thats only a temporary fix. Things don't make us happy, people and love make us happy.

Answer 10

As a child, I came to this country with my family and we emigrated with little more than the shirts on our backs. My only posession which I carried onto the plane with me was literally a giant wok for cooking. As a result of my experience, I take nothing in life for granted. My happiness is generated from simply being alive. =)