What Does it Mean to Own Something?

            According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of "own" is "belonging to oneself or itself —usually used following a possessive case or possessive adjective" or "used to express immediate or direct kinship".  But this definition seems too right, or correct.  Like many and most things in life, things aren't always black and white.  There are always gray areas.  In this definition, you have a very concrete answer given to you.  It is also objective, not a hint of emotion or opinion.  This makes it hard to find some sort of view on what the word means.  But, like some philosophical words, we must find the definition ourselves.  Ownership means being responsible for yourself and your actions.  Ownership goes much deeper than owning physical objects because owning those physical objects is what defines who you are and your actions.

            Owning your capabilities and actions creates a relationship with your values.  Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft, was once known as one of "the richest man alive".  He was ranked number two.  However, instead of using his money for selfish reasons, he created a foundation in 2000 and donated over 20 billion dollars to charity, regardless of all the power and money he had.  In this example, Gates was OWNING his capabilities but evidently doing something for the community with his own money rather than for himself; he was capable of doing something for somebody else and owned that capability.  This reflects on his values and personality because by looking at this, you can tell that he is passionate about not only financial success but also about common welfare of citizens.  Owning the satisfaction of helping others was clearly more important to him than owning billions of dollars. 

            Everyone has heard of the cliché saying "money can't buy you happiness".  But is it all that cliché?  When you go to the mall and buy those new Uggs or a new TV, does it really bring you true happiness?  Once again, the answer lies in relationship with capabilities and values.  No doubt, buying new materials creates a sense of excitement but the duration of that excitement depends on the person.  Someone who has very materialistic values may find permanent joy in having a collection of valuables at all times.  However, there may be someone else who only finds temporary joy in buying a new shirt or a watch.            

            What does this mean, though?  What idea this conclude?  Well, this proves my first point that not everything is black and white.  Through this analysis it has been hard to make a certain judgment on ownership because of the variety of personalities.  And to say that one person is wrong over the other would be incredibly invalid.  So, to conclude this thought process, ownership tends to grow deeper than objects to the  extent of how one person treasures them.  Ownership is more about how someone displays their values, capabilities, and actions when in the possession of these physical objects.