Everything Borrowed

I am writing today on a borrowed computer after seven months of staying in a borrowed room where I was able to finish a little novella which I am not able to share with you yet because it badly needs editing, my apologies!

It's been over a month now since then and the previous home has been rented out to a growing family. I am now back at my parent's house and just started a new job. There were a lot of movements in my life last May and it is only now that I am settling down. Forgive me as I have been avoiding the page lately.  I will do my best from now on to write more.

What I learned from being away was that anywhere was home if you're at home with yourself, if you're being true to the calling of your heart. Cliche as it is, indeed, home is where the heart is.

Another valuable lesson I learned while living on my own was that everything in life is borrowed... this laptop, this home, this life. "Possession" appears to be merely an illusion. The truth is all the things we have in life now are just temporary, merely lent to us. One day, we need to give them all back (also known as "leave them all behind").

What are we to do then with this borrowed life?  To live every day well, to love and be grateful.

I have very little possessions, this is why it is easier for me to move from one place to another. I often wondered why we trouble ourselves with things and sometimes stress ourselves over them. We lose many precious minutes worrying about a car getting scratched or that cellphone getting knocked down.

I know we know that these things - are just things. We just forget sometimes. Why worry over them?We can take care well of them so that they last longer. Yet the bottom line is that they all can be replaced.

Interestingly, the only things that we get truly get to keep are the intangibles in life -- the love, the hope, the friendship, family and community. Every "thing" else passes away, or passed on to someone else. Movements, changes, they are inevitable. The less attached we are, the easier for us to keep moving forward. When we are too attached to our comforts, it will be harder for us to move on to better things.  Perhaps the better investment are not things - but experiences (also called "moments" with people).

Ah, what a hard lesson to learn - this detachment. To cherish life with an open palm, always ready to give it back, to give it away - a wonderful solution to the clutter in our lives. For instance, do we really need 3 phones?  If we do, are we using all of them to the maximum? Will one be enough to cover the use of the other 2?

But I digress, things can be replaced but the relationships we have are irreplaceable. The right priorities therefore are the order of the day.

Some of us struggle with "possession" or the feeling of "possessiveness," or the idea of "this is mine." I believe that we are only stewards, entrusted with gifts.  The key word being "entrusted," given possessions in trust. We are to use these gifts wisely, make them grow and share them.

On a side note, I have heard someone say that even children are merely lent to us, until they must go on their way. It is sometimes difficult for parents to let go because of a sense of ownership towards their children. Parents must give their kids, roots and wings. They do not own them but they are entrusted to them to be guided and molded until they are ready to live life. I guess this is why being a parent requires selflessness and unconditional love, it is a place in life where you truly love without expectations. I hope someday if given a chance to have kids, I can embrace them with all my heart but be willing to let go of them gently when it's time for them to fly.

Detachment is a life-long lesson for most of us. Whenever I get too attached, I have to step back and think of what is truly important in life. You and I. Everything else are equipment, meant to be used to build our relationships.

It has been said: God gives us our life. What we do with this life is our gift to Him and to one another. 

So use things wisely. Use them to love. For instance, cars - for picking up loved ones. Phones - for calling friends and asking how they are. Money - for treating colleagues to a nice lunch or building a home for a poor family.

To do the really important things, you do not really need the latest gadgets or spend too much. Even the simplest ones and little acts done with great love will do. 

Leaving you now with a song from an all-time favorite artist, John Lennon's Imagine, rendered by the amazing kids of Kolisko Waldorf with John Lesaca during their musical recital, Music in Me 2. 

"Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can?" he sings.  I wonder how the children do it?

They have learned the secret of life early on. They came into life having nothing. They trusted that God will give them what they need. When they have them, they enjoy what they have to the fullest and they are willing to give back what they have.

Let's remember again this valuable lesson of playing and sharing!

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What's Next? We are halfway done with the year! I wish Christmas can come early, but all of life is a waiting. Waiting is a kind of suffering, a sacrifice, until we receive what we long for.  Most of life is a waiting, don't you think? But this is another topic for another day...Till next time! :)