To Have And To Do

Full disclosure--my inspiration for this post is something I heard at Rosh Hashanah services. Yet, while the idea began there, it is one that hits close to home.

The idea presented at services was that what you have is really only valuable because of what you get out of what you do with it. If, for example, a large TV makes the watching of your favorite shows and sporting events more enjoyable for you, than it is worth having. If, however, the having is just about the having, all the items in the world pale in comparison to all the things you can do.

My first instinct, upon hearing the Rosh Hashanah talk, was to run home and empty out my closets (perhaps even more so than I wanted to after reading about the "Spark Joy" philosophy about tidying around you). After all, what better way to get from the "have" to the "do" than to cut down on the amount of "have" I had to wade through?

What I ended up doing was eating and laughing with my family, doing some of the best sleeping of my week, and continuing to ponder what I had experienced in the midst of my religious observance. What I have will be there for going through, and perhaps I will be able to do that in the company of my kids or for the benefit of those who will do more with some of my things than I do. For now, what I am doing is holding on to the thoughts of that talk and the feeling of the days that surrounded it. I won't have them forever--do we really have anything forever? But acting on those words and feelings--that, perhaps, is what will make what I've done last more than just a few days.