Spirituality is...Having Without Possessing

The wise:
Teach without telling
Allow without commanding
Have without possessing
Care without claiming
The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

I have to admit that every time I come across that verse from the Tao Te Ching I normally get distracted by the "teach without telling" part and end up thinking of "wax on/wax off" from The Karate Kid.  However, in a culture as beset by economic issues, consumerism and downright fear as our modern western culture, I have been paying more attention lately to the "have without possessing" part.  How do we "have and not possess" and, what's so wise about that?

To possess something is to own it fully and have the power to use it at your will. The American Heritage Dictionary tells us the word possession came into Middle English from the word posidere -  posse (to be able) and sidere (to control or inhabit). To possess is to use one of the first words we learn once we realize there are other people in the world besides ourselves: Mine.

Let's face it. Someone else's toys are just cooler.

To have something is to be able to access it, to use it at your discretion but to also understand that it is something meant to be used not held or secluded from others.  When we possess something - it is ours to keep. When we have something it is ours to use and to share.  We should be cautious though. Whether it is money, property, credit, glory or fame - the desire to possess is mighty indeed. 

One of the stories in the Jataka involves a turtle who could not stop talking. On and on he talked until everyone he knew became quite bored with him.  He was very unhappy where he resided because few would come by to listen to him talk anymore. One day two geese came by and he started talking to them. He praised their feathers and their abilities and spent most of the day chatting them up. When it came time to leave they said they enjoyed his company but had to depart.
     "Take me with you," the turtle begged.
     "We can't," the geese responded. "We are flying far away and you cannot keep up."
     The sad turtle looked around, and seeing a stick came up with a brilliant idea.
      "Wait!" He said as the geese were leaving. "You two can hold this stick in your beaks and I will clamp onto it with my strong mouth. You can use that to fly me to the next pond where the people don't know me and I can make new friends."
      "It's too dangerous," replied the geese. "If you were to let go of the stick you would drop to your death."
      "My mouth is very strong," the turtle replied.
      "Yes," said a goose. "From all your talking. But during the flight you would not be able to talk at all or you would drop."
       "I can do it," said the turtle. "I have discipline and since I know talking would mean my death, I know I will not talk."
        So the two geese decided to give it a try.  Holding the stick between their beaks they took off with the turtle clamped on tight.  Everything was working as planned.  Until....
        A group of children saw the geese and began to clap and cheer for them.
        "Look at those geese!" Exclaimed the child calling to the heavens.
        "That is the smartest thing we have ever seen. Look how cleverly the geese are carrying that turtle!"
        "Way to go, Geese!" One child called.
The turtle was incensed. The children were mistaken and giving credit to the wrong parties! After all it was the turtle who figured everything out.
        Unable to withstand the geese getting all his praise the turtle cried out, "This was MY IDEA!!!"  and in doing so, let go of the stick and fell to his own demise.

Good thing they didn't have cell phones then...

Instead of having the knowledge that his idea worked, the turtle wanted to possess the idea and have credit for it was well.  Because he could not give or share, he ended up losing it all.

Spirituality is the ability to have without needing to possess. That doesn't mean it is wrong to own something - a story you wrote, a house or a degree - but when the ownership of a thing becomes more important than the actual use or value of it -  you're headed for spiritual trouble.  Jesus seems to give the same message through the gospels.

"If someone asks you for your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic too" (Luke 6:29). Jesus isn't advocating we run around naked  and give away all our clothing, but that we recognize that the value of people is more important than the value of clothing, and we give to those who need. Jesus wants us to have clothes (consider the lilies in the field) but not simply to possess them.

In the big picture, we realize our life is God's given to us to use, to enjoy, to share in this world. Our life is something we have, not something we own or can always control.  In the day to day - our talents, our gifts and our passions are something we have but we have them in order to develop them, share them and make the world better with them. They are not something we own that needs to be hidden away or kept from others.

The spiritual practice of having something, without possessing it, is the ability to celebrate all that is within our grasp and let go of the stress of simply hoarding up more to own.   Now, if we can just get that wax on/wax off thing down -- we'll all be okay.