Not Being Owned

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“I am the sea and nobody owns me.”

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Pippi Longstocking

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i would fight myself if i could

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(letthechipsfallwheretheymay)

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So.

Not being owned sounds like a simple thing. Yet. Over and over <and over> again we permit something … or someones … to own a part of you.

It can be direct, or it can be indirect.

It can be consciously or subconsciously.

To be clear.

This is not a society thing <albeit society is a nasty twit on occasion> … this is a self-thing.

And this is not a corruption thing <albeit money is a nasty twit on occasion> … this is a self-thing.

So what do I mean by a self-thing?

One of the very very few things you can actually control in life is “self-ownership.”

Owning who you are as a person. Owning your integrity. Owning your character, dignity and moral compass. And, I imagine, owning your behavior and attitudes.

These are all things clearly in your control. These are all things clearly you own.

Now.

This ownership isn’t easy. It isn’t because … well … what you own a shitload of people and things and Life are constantly seeking ways to steal it. Yeah. I said steal. They try to wrest all of, well, “you” out of your control so they can steal it and replace it with something they would prefer (or want). Oh. I will also say owning a good security system will not do shit for you.

You need to learn self-defense. And by self-defense, I actually mean defending against your self <and not someone or something else>. You have to choose to fight yourself.

Fight against some nasty instincts <which more often than not head you in the wrong direction>.

Fight against temptation <of which the world has an endless array it constantly parades in front of you>.

Fight against some internal mind games <think doubt, fear, acceptance, etc.>.

Regardless.

Many of us flippantly state “I am my own person and nothing owns me” and, yet, under the glaring spotlight of truth and reality we will find that more of us are owned by someone or something than we would like.

So what do we do when that happens?

Many of us shrug our shoulders when faced with this harsh truth and say “those are not the important things” or “that’s just Life.”

Well.

It is not ‘just Life,’ and they are not just ‘little unimportant things.’ It is your Life, and they are your things.

More of us should stop, take a moment, and think about whether we want to react to external ownership efforts <stealing> or proactively “fight myself” over the right to own myself. Yeah.

Sometimes you not only have to be aware of what you own you also have to be aware enough to fight your instincts to let them be stolen because its either not important enough or too hard to fight at that moment.

Well.

Each of us is the sea, and no one owns a sea.

Do not be owned.

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This post was originally published on EnlightenedConflict.com and is republished with the author’s permission.

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