no, and yet i value them.
terrific question.
No, I see them as privileges of which I have earned.
They are separate but treasures..of time past..
It depends greatly on the circumstances in which these objects were obtained in my life.
Special items, given with love, from a special person hold the power of memories, thus becoming the extension of me and my life in a round about way.
But not extensions to the point I couldn't continue to live without them.
They are just things...a means to make life more pleasant or offer sentimental interest...nothing more
growing up i always thought that items/objects were alive and had their own lives. i would give certain objects their own space and i was careful not to hurt things. i would cry when something broke. i think that's why i have always had a hard time throwing things away. as an adult i've had to learned to break that habit and to let things go.
some people have imaginary friends.....so yes, i've always been attached to my things. but my things were separate entities from myself, as they were their own selves.
it's funny...now i'm a product designer who makes things.
Long ago....or now...? Long ago maintains the distinct privelage of being able to intrude in the "now", with its former power, in THIS place and time... Children play with dolls and toys... They serve a purpose,and are a means to accomplish something..or can be. Sometimes that purpose is overlooked and the means becomes the end. The toy becomes a symbol of something to which the child identifies, and recieves satisfaction or glory or honor from the possession of the object. But, "when I became a man I put away childish things...." Some people (adults) have never left "long ago", never left childish things. Perhaps it would be better to state..."the childish comprehension" or assessment of things. What they identify with as a revelation of themselves is nothing more than a collection of toys which they possess. Tools and means ..or..ends and idols.... OH, and I speak here with the thought that the principle does not end with physical objects and possessions, for these can be replaced with creeds, doctrines, religion, beliefs, opinions.... Lay the axe to the root of the problem and it will be solved,...but few would spend the time to dig into the ground to unearth the root and expose it first....
I value people and my pets far above material things, but those objects that are special to me usually hold sentimental meaning. Things that came from my parents, my kids or friends, that were given in love.. A few years back during a series of severe winter storms, I lost my home and many of the things I owned when my roof collapsed. . What meant the most to me was when I was able to save the small simple objects and pictures that held significance for me. My pets and I got out just moments before the roof collapsed and that meant more to me than any material object I had lost. I don't cry over "things". I have shed tears though for those that I've loved and lost..
I have lost all and had to require all anew . To give the comfort of modern life . But , I have had to live very close to the bone and it teaches lessons .
Hey Rita, I am attached more to the things and objects of my parents than I am to my own, they are replaceable my parents aren't, I don't see my things as an extention or separate entity, they are just things some have special meaning but like I said they are replaceable.
I've been through a fire where I lost everything and a theft of
a storage unit that was filled with possessions of great
value and now I live very simply without many material
things. The few things I cherish are the ashes of all my
former animals that I've always had with me, the little
bear I got the day I was born from my dad and a lavalier
of my mom's that I never take off....otherwise, I see most
everything as separate from me. I've got my soul and
that's quite enough.
One piece of jewlrey is an extention of me & I hope it sends the love & warmth out of it to whoever wears it forever. Everything else is just stuff.
I am very attached to my books (in the aggregate). Some I have had for nearly 40 years. They are old friends - actually all my books are my friends. I'm also very attached to my computer,because it keeps me in contact with the outside world and is an extension of my consciousness. I'm also attached to my ritual tools, such as my athame. Other than these things, I could care less about my stuff.
no.........they are comforts of ...my life ....not life.
I am deeply attached to my object.