I'm bring up the old question:

Can man be free while having possessions?

It is an old question, but I think it still has validity. To me it brings up another question:

Can man be truly happy without possessions?

Can man be free without having possessions? There's a distinct theory that all liberties derive from property, example: I own myself -> I have right to my life, my thought, and the products of my actions. Sorry if this is the political aspect of "freedom"

You'd have to define "free" before I respond to this. Apparently the question is about happiness not about freedom.

Happiness is a tricky thing to consider because it might be happiness for a minute/hour/day (hey, you could do some drug and be happy for all that time even if you don't eat, you are naked and don't own anything)

If you want to be happy for a longer period you need basic things like: food, cloths, shelter, human company -- all of these require some kind of possession. But this "need" is somehow relative, since "content" is a state of mind it can be controlled by mind and it doesn't require too many things: for example ascetic monks. One could be "enlightened" and do it without cloths or without human company but it's not something common (and even those need food and a kind of shelter and a guarantee that nobody would take their only possession: life) and it's not something that I'm willing to try, I'm pretty content living in the material world.

The only question is: would you be happy without having possession? Leave your wallet at home and try sleeping and living on the street for a week and then respond.

EDIT: and that trasforms into the discussion that we already had in another thread money vs. happiness, I don't think I have anything to add about that

i think that i would feel freer without possessions; i don't know if i would feel happier.
at times, i feel chained to my possessions. i wish that i didn't have the responsibility of taking care of them. it's time consuming. and it's just [/I]stuff, you know?

on the other hand, i'd miss my books terribly. and clothing. and a roof over my head...because i don't want to run naked and you never really fall altogether asleep when you're entirely vulnerable, sleeping unsheltered.

i like my happy-medium solution...to have enough without being needy, but not wallowing in excess. it would enable me to be happier and freer.
*sigh*
now, if i [I]could just live it.
it's tough when you have a partner that is very fond of all of the perks, goodies and toys.

good grief

i'm italic-happy.

Italics do it better

(excuse my pun)

I love your italics though, even though there are so many that they don't make sense to me anymore

the italics were just horrible. i find if i come in to the forum early in the morning, i get through the servers better.

unfortunately, i'm not really awake.

it doesn't show, does it???

Not at all