I just keep coming back to this, the idea that you don’t really own things in this world. I mean, you can have a car, or a house, but in the end you won’t have it anymore. And whether you had a big house, or a little house won’t really matter.
“The things that you own end up owning you.” – Fight Club
Material possessions are far less valuable than time or love or relationships, and to a certain extent you only need so much. Maslow, a 19th century psychologist, created a hierarchy of needs, and I think the second level of safety would be the level where material possessions are most important. Too much of it can take away from self-actualization, the highest point on the pyramid.
Self-actualization could also be considered enlightenment, self-knowledge such as the Buddha describes. Getting there requires a great deal of balance in life that is hardly obtained from obsession with material possessions. Sometimes having less can lead to more happiness. And often, people are wealthy for a reason. But the key is to detach from wealth altogether. Neither path is better nor worse, but each is beautiful in its own merits. Appreciate where you are and what life offers you.