People over things, always

People are more important than things. It may seem so obvious and so painstakingly clear…but it’s usually the simple lessons that we so easily forget. Sometimes, we are so focused on ourselves and the things that we own and how “important” we are that we end up blowing up on and hurting the people  that we love. If we are not careful, we can end up focusing on possessions and not people.

The way we value things over people becomes obvious in how we react to certain situations. Have you ever screamed at your little sister for accidentally putting a stain on your “expensive” shirt? Have you ever expressed anger at your friend for dropping your latest and quite expensive gadget? Have you ever lost your temper at your mother for putting a small dent on your laptop? Or have you even hit your little dog for chewing up your wallet?

The funny thing here is that it seems that the more expensive the item is, the angrier and more unforgiving we get.. As if somehow, somewhere along the way, these things have suddenly acquired more value  because we worked “so hard” and that it took “so much” of our precious time to get it that it actually takes precedence over an actual person (or pet for that matter), whom you say you love.

We forget that things can be replaced and people cannot.

That people bring us joy (real joy) while things do not.

Relationships with people are eternal while material things are of this world. They rust, decay and eventually have to be thrown away.

Let us free our minds from the trappings of momentary and fleeting joys. Only when we are unattached to material objects can we be truly free to know what really matters in this world. (Hint: They are not of the world.)

I write these things because we are all human and we all need a gentle reminding every once in a while. Only last night, I blew up at my husband over an eraser. An eraser. I couldn’t believe how readily I hurt his feelings over a 20-peso something that you can get at a bookstore the next day. I had shown, through my actions, that I cared more about an inanimate object…an eraser for crying out loud, than about him or our relationship. Way to go, Karen.

We may have our reasons and our “justifications” for acting the way we do but at the end of the day, these things are just what they are..things.

A thing cannot hug you, kiss you, encourage you or love you….no matter what model or how expensive it is.

Let us choose to choose people over things, all the time, no matter what.