What do we ultimately own in this life?

We say this house is ours, but in reality, no house is ours. Any house that belongs to anyone after they die, is returned to life, not theirs, they really cannot own it. Gold, silver, jewelry, cars, even money, when we have it, it is correct to say it is ours, but in the end, it is still not ours.

When I was young, I looked at rich people, with many houses and many plots of land, I admired and envied them. I thought, they are so happy, they are so happy. I should probably try my best to own many things, at least a part of them. Now I understand possession in a different way. I see, what each of us really HAS, really OWNS in this life is not much related to material things. MATERIAL things are exactly things that cannot be owned. Today they are in our hands, but tomorrow we lose business, or we die, they are no longer in our hands. I see, the things we really HAVE are non-material things, cannot be touched or seen, but can only be felt.

It could be happiness, the joy of the people we love. It could be the moment when loved ones are together, caring for each other, saving love for each other. I deeply realize the lasting value of love, of family.

Remembering, when I first graduated, I only wished that one day I would make a lot of money and be able to go shopping for all kinds of things. Now, there are times when I go to buy this or that, take out my wallet and leave the store, my heart is empty. The joy that I used to yearn for has now become superficial and bland. And strangely, the moments with my parents, siblings, and children's family give me the feeling of being RICH, extremely rich. I easily feel satisfied with a life that may not have much material things, but my parents are healthy, my children are normal, happy, and warm. I am not "wandering around" looking for money or position. I am also not sad or self-conscious compared to people who are richer in material things. This feeling is so real, it is strong enough for me to realize that strange changes have taken place, when I began to understand more about this life, about the presence and death of each speck of dust.

For an economist, accumulation is something necessary, ensuring sustainable development, for anyone's life. We work to get a salary, that's the truth. No matter what the meaning is, the first meaning is still to earn money to live. Any job is the same. But accumulation, for me, is not sacrificing everything for a bank account that grows bigger and bigger. There is something really stupid about that kind of accumulation.

I'll tell you about someone I know. She has no husband or children, lives in a pretty big house. She has a pension that is enough to spend comfortably. Of course, she also has a savings account in the bank from her lifetime of hard work. But I still often see her buying instant noodles at the supermarket. Every week she goes to the supermarket to buy instant noodles, pho or instant porridge, that is her regular breakfast. Every morning she still goes to the garbage dumps around where we live to collect scrap metal to sell for a few thousand in change. She says she has to save for her old age, even though she has been retired for a long time. She has never traveled far in her life, never been abroad.

For a while, I didn’t see her at the supermarket. Then, about half a year later, there was an obituary posted on the old whitewashed wall I passed by. She passed away from cancer. The funeral was as quiet as erasing the life of an unknown person. The house she left behind, the bank account she left to her grandchildren. All of those savings, she returned to life. She went alone on her last trip. The story of a person who once existed in this world ended there.

I have a friend who is older than me. That friend believes in this: use the world without owning it. The philosophy is, the world is vast and endless, the most we can own is how much.

And once you own something, you have to face the worry of protecting what you have. How many disasters can happen from the mentality of possessing and wanting to have more.

People want to have a lot to satisfy that desire, not to use what they have. Because in the end, sleeping in a bed, living in a room, and traveling in a car is enough.

I also know a woman who is very rich, but does not own a house. She only rents a house, rents a house she likes, and if she does not like it, she moves to another place. She does not have her name on any land title, but invests her money in business and charity. When she encounters difficult situations, she spends money to help them, regardless of their name.

A hairdresser I admire is similar. He makes billions of dollars, has no home, and whenever he has free time, he wanders around hospitals, helping the unfortunate. He has to give to find meaning in life, he can’t stand the feeling of earning money and then stuffing it into his pocket or bank account. When he gets money, he has to find opportunities to give it away. And every time he comes back, his pockets are empty, but he feels happy as if he’s at a festival, full of energy to continue working hard and making money.

Oh those strangers, how they make this life sparkle.

I have never had much money. And maybe because of my concept of money, I will never have much money. Ever since I was young, I have always felt very contemptuous of myself, if I earned any money, I would just put it away, save nine cents for one cent, while my parents were still struggling, my siblings were still struggling with work, family, food and shelter. If I had not helped others in the world, I must help my relatives, with all I could. Having worked for decades, being a hard worker, if I had only worked for myself, I would not have had much money, I still did not own anything valuable. But I was still proud, still felt as cool as anyone else.

There were a few times I was cheated by an old friend from my childhood who came to borrow money, saying they were in trouble. But after borrowing the money, they disappeared, and there was no way to see them again. Some people said I was stupid, but I was still comfortable with that stupidity. It was better to be cheated by a friend than to feel guilty when a friend was in real trouble and I had a little money but refused to help him. Thinking about it, it was too AQ, but also too relieved.

In work and life, sometimes we get cheated. There are many smart people in the world. We work with them, but they are not nice to us. We know, but never mind, we think, if we have some value, they will take advantage of us, and let it go. Such small baits, why do we offend each other, why do we yell at each other.

Thinking about it, foolish people have more friends in life than wise people. Those who are too wise have partners but no friends. But foolish people always have friends, people who truly understand and love them. However, the foolishness here is only the foolishness of not wanting to cling to material things and money. But in terms of life, sometimes wisdom is foolishness, and foolishness is wisdom.

Lieutenant General Huu Uoc once had this poem:

Who said smart is smart?

Who says stupid is stupid?

Smart and stupid are the same

Really, reading it sounds a bit confusing, but thinking about it, it's a whole philosophy of life, no kidding.