I hate to be that writer going around quoting Gandhi, like they've solved the keys to life, but I've been doing a bit of thinking lately and this story helps put into words how I feel. A man had once approached Gandhi wanting to live a simpler life, but didn't think he could give away all of his books. Gandhi replied, "As long as you derive inner help and comfort from anything, you should keep it. If you were to give it up in a mood of self-sacrifice or out of a stern sense of duty, you would continue to want it back, and that unsatisfied want would make trouble for you. Only give up a thing when you want some other condition so much that the thing no longer has any attraction for you."

Us people are always yearning for more and more. Plenty never really becomes enough, and with our human nature we idolize material possessions that have no raw intrinsic value. Referring back to what Gandhi told this man seeking more simple living, I take this as needing to learn how to weigh the value of our possessions and how they actually benefit our lives. This also means, possessing only what does bring intrinsic value to our lives, and leaving unnecessary materials behind.

I struggle with this myself sometimes, in that I want the latest this or that, but in reality, once I have it, it brings little to no genuine happiness for what it probably cost. It's mind boggling to me the dollar amounts some of us put on things that we think will make us happier, like a $5 Starbucks that could be home brewed, or an elaborate name brand bag.

In actuality, I feel like we who seek the most high monetary traded possessions have the most void to fill in other aspects of our lives that contribute to true gratification. Ideally, us humans only need a few things in life to be happy, and those things are part of Maslow's Hierarchy of safety, competence, love and self-belonging, and autonomy. With these four things, we can live full meaningful lives. Instead, when aspects of these needs are lacking we seek out material possessions to fill these voids that we, in our minds, tell ourselves will make us happy. We let these material possessions own us.

Henry David Thoreau once said "the cost of a thing is the amount of life which is required to be exchanged for it". With these unnecessary possessions come unnecessary burdens of needing to maintain them and desiring more once we're no longer amused with them. It's an endless cycle.

Ending materialism doesn’t mean forsaking all your favorite things. Depriving yourself of everything you possess only shows that you're still too obsessed with these objects. Developing a healthy inner world means being able to see these objects as neutral and not letting them consume you. The change involves more attitude than action. So if you're up for the challenge, consider a self reflection. Are your material possessions owning you? Or do you own them?