Material attachments

Logo pin found in Ft. Bragg that symbolizes our business goals.

It started simply and grew into something much larger. In conversation at my last art reception, I realized something important.  I was complimented on my logo pin by a new acquaintance. Peter said "I really like that pin- it is very unique" and it could have ended right there. But I had time and Peter was willing to hear the tale of what I  call my logo pin since it resembles the key graphic element in our new business, How to Navigate Change. The two figures carrying a boat are moving in sync, working in tandem as in portage- carrying a boat across land. In our logo, we use three figures but the symbolism and impact of portage is the same. 
Peter then asked if I had had this made for me- a logical assumption to make. The story is much more accidental than that.
Last year, my sister and I were traveling along the coast and stopped in a Ft. Bragg used clothing store. In the jewelery case lay this pin that was so very close to the logo we had recently developed. It was a case of serendipity and I was thrilled to find it for only $15.
Peter notices that it is silver- and I take off my pin and hand it over to him for a closer look. He has a jewelers loop and gives it closer examination.Yes it is silver and there is a number stamped on the back to tell the percentage of silver. To me, the material is not important but the significance is everything. It is like icing on the cake that it happens to be of higher quality material.
Suddenly I am sad and find myself explaining that there is a problem in that I am afraid of loosing this pin. It has become so much a part of me and I am proud of finding it.  It gathers a lot of attention, I found it when I was with my sister in a special place, it is rare, I will never find another like it, and on and on.  Sadness can become a very long road if we let it.
Peter and I began expanding on possession and the powerful lure of material things -  how they can hold us hostage. We grow to love certain objects and they become part of what we believe is our story. But yet a part of us recognizes this as a trap - that we become identified with something even if we know this to be false. The power of attraction is very great. We are tested on our attachment to something external when we sense that this is really not us at all. When we break this spell and become aware of this obsessive  process we can see a bigger picture. Then it is simply a very wonderful object that we have close to us in the moment and can appreciate it apart from ourselves. I am now free and feel lucky to have such a pin. It is available to me right here and  now and it no longer holds the fear of loss.