The impermanence of things

Everything is fleeting. All forms are temporary. If we get attached to physical items, we may feel a sense of loss when they break, or when they are lost or stolen. But we NEED things, you might say. We need these tools in our life. We need these clothes to keep us warm, a bed to rest our bodies, a car or bike to get us somewhere, a stove to cook our food, pieces of art to decorate, a computer to write in our blogs... :) Everything we use, everything around us, everything in the physical world is just a tool. We don't OWN anything. Once we start identifying with THINGS, is when we lose ourselves in them. MY car, MY clothes, MY computer.

When my truck got stolen about a year ago, I experienced a great sense of loss. Yes, it was old and run down, but it was a valued 'tool' in my life.
1) It got me from point A to point B
2) It was the transportation vehicle for my job, my source of income, AND...
3) I had identified with it. I had even named it- Angel :)

It served as a function in my life, and it also had sentimental value. Even though I got the truck back, it was having mechanical issues, so it was already on it's way out of my life. I still 'miss' my truck, to this day. But why should I feel such despair for an old beat up truck? (or any car for that matter?) After all, it was only a tool. I didn't actually lose anything. Nothing about me or who I am changed because my truck was gone. Any sense of loss or sadness I felt stemmed only from my thoughts:

Thought 1) Now I won't be able to get from point A to point B, easily.
Thought 2) I won't be able to work, and make an income, and...
Thought 3) MY ANGEL is gone! We've had so many memories, and she's gone!

The thing we don't realize is that THOUGHTS are also forms, fleeting, temporary, impermanent, fake, misleading. If we identify with them, they consume us. These thoughts governed my feelings for the next few days. I became depressed and just sat at home, waiting. I OWNED the truck. It was MINE. How could someone take MY truck? The truth is Thought 1 and Thought 2 will take care of themselves. New tools will come into our lives that will make 1 & 2 possible. Maybe you start taking the bus to get around, maybe you get a different job. In my case, I got a new car. But these are also only tools, so we can't attach ourselves to them either, because one day, the bus will be late, and one day you'll get laid off from you're new job. And one day, you're new car will break down.

Instead of looking at things as OURS, like we OWN them, think of them as if we are renting them while we're on this earth, or renting them for a short time to serve a particular function. In essence, this is the truth. We don't own anything, because everything will eventually dissolve, even us.