11/4/19 The real power of freedom

Many think to be free you got to have a lot of money.  Actually the more money you have, the more restrictive your life.  You got to trade your time in exchange for the money that you got to earn.

To be free means you can do whatever you like at leisure.  Then only you can treat money as an enabler and not a jailer.

We are creatures of habit.  Even our purchasing preference is based on a set of habits that we had developed along the way.  Very likely when we have a lot of money we buy the same things.  The only difference is we buy the same things more or more expensive.

We either become collectors or hoarders.  Some buy more clothes and more expensive accessories.  In the case of Rosmah Mansor, she hoarded jewelries and handbags; same things more and more expensive.

There is no limit to material lust.  So lustful are some of us in material acquisition to the point we are willing to cheat, steal and kill for these so called branded items that make us feel good in front of others.  To some these items define who they are.

It is a sickness and we all are infected depending on the degree and the money we have.  I am guilty of it as well.  Nobody is spared.

The remedy is not about adding by rather subtracting.  There is no limit to addition.  However in most cases we can keep subtracting until we have the barest minimum which is eventually zero (very unlikely).  This concept is known as Voluntary Simplicity.

By opting for less, we become lighter,  Albeit we are talking about offloading our material baggage, Voluntary Simplicity also applies to the food that we eat and about anything we do to derive pleasure.

Everything in excess is bad for us.  So are material wealth.  There is such a thing as the Law of Diminishing Return; the more of the same thing we have, the less pleasurable the experience is to us.

This applies to everything.  It even applies to the most pleasurable things that we can think of, including sex and drugs.

The key is to have just enough so that you can sustain your utility.  No overindulging.  Indulgence will lead to suffering if we continuously persist; according to the teaching of the Buddha.

The case may be different if you are a hoarder.  You keep on buying because you are addicted to the feeling you get when you acquire the items.  Seldom hoarders actually utilize the items they hoard.  Rosmah Mansor cannot even use all the bags in her collection even if she rotates different bags everyday for a year (or more).

For goodness sake, the bags are the same design:

Certainly this is a serious illness.  This is beyond greed.  This is OCD at its worst!

So yes, we need money and yes we need to buy things.  However, bear in mind they are just that; things.  These things cannot help us when we are in trouble.  As a matter of fact, they are our liabilities when the chips are low.  You don't believe me?  Ask Rosmah Mansor.  Because of her lust for things, she and her husband Najib Razak are in the hot soup right now.

Things are meant to be utilized.  It you need things to make you feel secure psychologically, then you have a serious mental condition.  All the money in the world won't solve the deficiency of your mind.  You need to look at your values and beliefs real hard because your perception of reality had been altered.  The excess money that you have is just a sugar coating.  Dig deeper and you will discover a sense of insecurity or a feeling of void within you.

So I pass my verdict; Rosmah Mansor needs a shrink before she can stand a chance in the court of law.  Well that's just me.  No amount of jewelries and handbags will change my views.  The more they are displayed the more affirmative is my judgment LOL.  

For the lust of things... My o my.  Not a bit of envy.

The rebranding of Najib Razak as Malu Apa Bossku 

(literal translation:  why be ashamed my buddy).

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