The Jones's will be fine without your ego
Grasping in a world of change causes unease, unsatisfactoriness, dissatisfaction, and suffering. These are the insights of the Buddha. They seem antithetical to life in the modern world where we have to strive and connive to survive. We are always trying to protect what we earn, and to a certain extent, we want to work at something that pushes and pulls us to be a little better, more innovative, more competitive, so we desire just a bit more.
But do we ever stop and appreciate where we are and how the things we have actually grasped make us feel? Even for the best things you have attained—like financial security, college for your children, or retirement—do we take pause and really enjoy them or do they have the same valence as hygiene, just another of life’s necessities.
In the modern age, we must plan to settle, to be strategic about the end of grasping. Let’s start with your car or home, can you plan to stop grasping for something new or of higher value or status than your current one? Can you strategically settle for what you have and really appreciate it? Try it with your car, clothing, home, or anything else you grasp for—and plan on paradoxically being a bit more satisfied in your life.