Nothing Belongs to Us
We spend our entire life making money,
But to this truth we are blind…
We fight, we cheat, we do everything we can,
But ultimately, we will leave everything behind.
Isn't it strange? We human beings think, 'This is my house, my car, my money, my bank account. Of course, this is my business, is there any doubt? This is my family.' Throughout life, we live with this myth that everything belongs to us. But ultimately, nothing will be ours. We will leave everything behind.
Is there any doubt about this? If there is, consider the death of the richest people in the world. What are they taking with them? Nothing! Although everything seems to belong to us, we take nothing with us when we depart. We spend our entire life collecting possessions and creating and building relationships with people which we will finally leave behind.
Dave was a millionaire. He spent his entire life chasing success. He moved from business to business, working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. He had interest in real estate, hotels, the mining industry and he had just started a logistics business. He had a life coach who often advised him, ‘Stop. Realize that ultimately, nothing will belong to you.’ But Dave, like many of the millionaires and billionaires of the world, was blind to the truth. As he was discussing his new business with his mentor, the coach told him, 'This is my favourite Montblanc pen. Can your logistics business pack it and deliver it to me after I die?' Dave was so preoccupied with his money and success that he just took the package. Later in the evening, he thought, ‘How can our logistics company deliver this pen after his death? We can deliver it anywhere on earth but can't give it to him after he dies.’ Dave was struck by a big realization. He stopped running after his business and started contemplating life. He asked himself several questions, ‘What am I actually seeking? What do I really want in life?’
Most of us live life without realizing that ultimately nothing will belong to us. Life is like a game of monopoly. We may buy railroads and hotels, and collect all the money, but in the end, the game will be over, and we will put the monopoly board and the money back in the box and close it. So does it happen in life. The game of life will soon end, and the lid will close over our head. Everything that we collected throughout the life we lived, will all be left behind.
We may earn and earn, but the truth is others will burn what we earn once we die. Whatever belongs to us is only ours till we die. If we don't use it, we lose it. Therefore, the wise ones don't just live, earn, and die. They spend before their end and when they die, others cry for the kind of amazing life they lived.
Why is it that we all live our life without realizing this simple truth? Although the reality stares at us in our face, why do we continue living our life, believing everything to be ours? We make more money than we need as we are overtaken by greed. Not just one beautiful house, we buy several homes in several cities, and even several holiday homes. To secure ourselves, we have stocks, shares, bonds, and deposits in the bank. We are constantly accumulating wealth, be it in gold or diamonds. Why do we forget the simple truth that none of this belongs to us?
It seems that all of humanity is living in a trance. We are all enveloped by a myth that all this belongs to us. Thus, we cannot see the truth. In the bargain, we spend our entire life chasing money, success and wealth and we forget to live our life.
A rich man who recently died in a Hong Kong hospital told his trusted friend, 'If only I had spent my life spending my money, rather than just making it, I would have died a happier man.' The Hong Kong millionaire is not alone in his thoughts. Most people seem to live, but in reality, they just exist, and they die. They zoom from their womb to their tomb without realizing the truth that nothing belongs to them.
Isn't it time to wake up? Should we not realize that life is a short journey. We come without anything and when we go, we will go empty-handed. While we do need resources to live, why should we invest our entire life creating more and more resources which will be ultimately left behind? Those who realize this truth start living in the true sense.
The majority of humanity sees life escaping them as they continue in their treasure hunt, even though they have passed the ripe age of 70, or 80 or even 90. The wise ones, however, stop and go on a quest. They earn to fulfil their needs and they accomplish noteworthy success, but they live with the realization that nothing is theirs. Everything is like a loan given to them. It is a trust that must be handed over when their life journey comes to an end. Such people really live life. They are detached from their possessions and though they love people, they are not attached to them. Their paradigm of life doesn't view anything as theirs. They live happy and peaceful lives.
What about you? How are you living your life? Do you realize that nothing belongs to you? Or are you imprisoned by your ego that believes this is ‘mine’, and that is ‘mine’? If that is the case, it is time to stop and make a U-turn.
IN A NUTSHELL