The aphorism, “Having possessions has its worries, having
nothing has its freedom” is
my favourite of
all the other aphorisms. This is because it gives an in-depth perspective of
what
liberation
means in life. For the longest time, I have struggled with feeling free. Since
I was
young, I felt
like the world was a cage I willingly put myself in, yet I was unable to
escape. With the help of my
favourite aphorism, it helped me identify one of my life bittersweet
frustration, which is owning
a pet.
I begin with my chapter: Owning a pet. At the ripe age of
8 years old, I had a golden retriever named
Buddy. For what seemed to be a long time, I have always wanted a pet dog.
Hence my
parents decided to adopt Buddy. I loved him so much but my parents made Buddy
my
responsibility
because I wanted him. I had to bathe him, feed Buddy, take Buddy on walks and
accompany Buddy
as he was once an abandoned puppy with anxiety issues before I had him.
Even for food,
I had to budget my allowance given
by my parents, save enough money to afford
Buddy’s food
and favourite treats. Looking back, my parents were not neglectful, they wanted
me to
understand the consequence of wanting. This resulted in me rejecting birthday
parties
invited by my
friends and involvement with school activity because Buddy would become
neurotic when I
am away from him. Although I loved him with my heart, I was evidently held
back to join
the society. My reflection on this situation when I stumbled this aphorism is
that
having
ownership over the dog is unfair to Buddy himself since he is dependent on me
to live. Moreover, having Buddy loaded me with distress as I had
to learn to be frugal and ensure Buddy feels safe at
all times.
However, as Buddy aged, he died from cancer and it tore
me apart. The years of being together and
the sudden separation agonized my days. The only thing that aid in coping was
when I
associated the aphorism with my own life scenario. Why this aphorism meant so
much
for me is
because it acts as a memoir of my lovely dog due to the fact I have created
deep
connections
with his death with the aphorism to cope. I acknowledged that I voluntarily
accepted the consequences of possession, which is an attachment
with Buddy; and the loss of a being I love is part of
the path to freedom. Years later after Buddy’s passing, I feel unrestrained
when I leave home to socialize with friends. Even though I am
freer, I am blessed to have this experience and
to come across the aphorism to alleviate the tragedy. What I learn from the
experience and
the aphorism is that possessions are ephemeral and therefore obtaining nothing
avoids suffering as a whole.
沒有留言:
張貼留言