Hold Them Lightly

Wanting everything and trying to get everything by being greedy results only in us getting much less than what we would have had if only we had recognized the truth of the saying, "we get to keep only that which we give away". If we clutch a rose tightly, the thorns prick us and the petals bruise. If we hold in an iron grip our relationship with another person dies. If we hang on to our possessions, guarding them from thieves, we imprison ourselves. People and possessions, like roses should be held lightly. If we let the people around us be themselves, they are more likely to stay with us, and if we do not invest ourselves in our possessions, we do not hunger for more nor mourn them when they disappear.