Less is More

When do your possessions start to define who you are?
Whenever I start to feel like I'm relying on "things" whether it be clothing or electronics I can't help but go through my belongings and start to rid myself of the excess.
I think the more possessions you own start to put a price on who you are, and the more you have the more you want, and the things you want turn into things that you convince yourself are things you need. And those things in turn just multiply. I feel like I start to lose sight of what is really important in life. People. The worst part about America is how many people have virtually nothing. So many people are living in poverty and in slums and are working so hard to barely scrap by, and yet anything my heart desires I wind up purchasing for myself. It's selfish. It greed. It makes me feel less than who I am.
It's hard for some people to realize that their happiness is wrapped up in what they have. Sometimes it takes a fire or a flood to give the gift of understanding what nothing is. And while saying that I find that it's still worded wrong. I think just when you think you have nothing the emptiness is from the loss of possessions and it forces you to look at what lies deeper; that which is truly important and certainly not "nothing" but the greatest something you could ever possess. What word could you attach to that true understanding of being—humanity, altruism—the opposite of the ego.
Don't get me wrong many "things" have given me what I consider happiness but I've come to understand that is a very artificial and short-lived happiness. It is not me. All that is artificial and superficial and lives in the mind not the heart. It's best not to mistake this. Many times people try to make what they have into false idols, things they worship, and things that they use to replace or repair that which cannot be permanently altered by an object.
It's hard to give gifts without the intent of the other person's happiness through it. Adults give gifts as bribes, as ways to make up for not spending quality time, as an excuse, a justification, a cop out, and most importantly the gift becomes a gift to themselves; a way to rid guilt.
Gifts as a way of saying thanks for being you can be shown without a price tag, but in society today it's hard to even consider not buying someone a gift an option. You would feel bad if you didn't at least get a little something. It shows you care. I think words can become just as valuable to someone; a letter, a lovenote, some words of gratitude will last much longer than a present. A year after I barely if at all remember what I got someone, and the craziest thing is they probably don't remember either. I think it's horrible when you have so much that you don't even know what you have. With each new thing you gain it's almost as if everything else becomes a little less significant. I find that by taking things away you really add to the value of everything else.
So where does it end? It doesn't. It never will. The best you can do, is well the best you can do. You need to decide what that is. A gift out of true love with no expectations for return or recognition has the potential to be the greatest gift you can give to yourself—a full heart.