Dirt and Stones

"How long will we fill our pockets like children with dirt and stones? Let the world go. Holding it, we never know ourselves, never are airborne" -Rumi

This quote particularly touched me and seemed very relevant for this blog. When I was young, I used to collect rocks. Every family outing, every vacation, I would return with some new and interesting find. They would pile up in a box in my closet: cats eye, obsidian, et cetera. I had a little pouch that I carried with me full of the smallest and most favorite. At some point I stopped. I stop buying stones, stopped picking them up on vacations, and stopped carrying them around with me. I don't really know why, but they impressed me less. They seemed less special and less precious. I had no more use for them.

Now I no longer carry any stones with me. In my rucksack, I barely have over 100 possessions, and barely over 30 pounds of "stuff" to fill my pockets, and yet I still want, still desire to possess the earth. I still have a long way to go. As long as I covet, as long as I read blogs that are based on consumerism and that next purchase, I will never be free. My pack will feel heavy until it is filled with a full life.