Ownership, value and love

I hate to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste from the tube.

I don’t really care about wasting or not attempting to utilize the total amount of paste.

But my mother is different from me.

She would squeeze every tube till it’s last bit.

And I would get irritated by her efforts. Mind you, she isn’t stingy at all.

I don’t exhibit the same behaviour when it comes to other things. Like my clothes.

I use every piece of garment till I believe I can’t use it anymore.

The difference is in the ‘ownership’ I believe.

In my mind I don’t own the toothpaste but I do own the clothes I wear.

In her mind, my mother owns everything that she buys in the house. That’s her territory. So she would not want anything to go waste. She will put in all efforts to get complete value from everything she owns.

That’s true of all of us. I know someone who would sacrifice his time with family, friends and other joys in life just to take care of his motorbike. So that it can give him the maximum value for the money he paid for it.

He was never in love with his motorbike.

When you are in love with something, it elicits the opposite kind of behaviour. You want to preserve things that you love. And not use them up.

Like a really special gift.

Or somebody you love.

Or a favourite perfume that is about to get over.

You acquire either to ‘use’ or to ‘love’. The starting point of the acquisition makes the difference.

But sometimes an acquisition of ‘use’ can give you so much value that over a period of time you tend to think that you are in love with it.

I find that dangerous. Value can’t be equated to love. Love should always happen before value.

Value can bring only attachment but not love.

Love, will eventually give value.

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