Admire, don’t aquire

This has been my preferred mantra recently.

It’s markedly useful as we enter the holiday season, bombarded by images of spooky Halloween houses, bountiful and welcoming Thanksgiving spreads, and Christmas wonderlands of evergreen, twinkly lights, and piles of beautifully wrapped presents.

It is perfectly okay to enjoy these images and scenes. Bask in the beauty. Just seeing these things can make you feel more festive. But that doesn’t mean you need to own them.

Ask yourself - why is my first reaction to seeing something I like to possess it? To have 24/7 access to it.

Is it the thing you want to own or is it the feeling? As if owning the item now means you will hold on to the joy you felt upon encountering said item permanently?

Today I strolled through the seasonal section at Target. All the fall decor was on display, the Halloween items making their way to shelves, even the Christmas decor had its little corner for the early shoppers. And I was beaming ear to ear (underneath my mask, of course). I was merely enjoying in the feeling that these items gave me, fully knowing I wasn’t going to purchase one thing, no matter how captivating it was.

We can teach ourselves to enjoy something, comment on how beautiful or inventive it is, but not feel the urge to make it our own.

In a perfect world, we would all just take in these sights in public spaces, enjoying them together, appreciating the thought and effort that went into creating a seasonal Shangri-la. But we wouldn’t feel the urge to recreate them in private spaces, in our homes, because access is enough, and we don’t need to own a thing to feel the joy it brings.