Since parigraha is Sanskrit for hoarding, aparigraha, is the antithesis of that – the abstention of hoarding. John Philp defines it as the abstention from possessiveness, greed, selfishness, and acquisitiveness. Examples of aparigraha are: eating food that has been acquired justly and consuming only what’s essential for healthy survival (i.e. eat organic and don’t overeat), getting fewer clothes without regard to the whims of fashion or going without a car and walking to work. Aparigraha can also extend to more subtle energies such as restraining one’s hunger for power, status, and bliss. This concept is present in many philosophies or religions (in Buddhism it’s known as non-attachment) because possessions are seen as an obstacle to liberation. In simple terms, how many times did the t.v., telephone, computer, cell phone, or books (yes, even spiritual ones) get in the way of your Yoga or meditation practice?

In 2005 I went backpacking in Southeast Asia for four months. For the entire time, I survived with two outfits (one which I wore), one bathing suit and one pair of flip flops (which I also wore). That may be an exaggeration for some, but all in all, that trip taught me how little I really needed to survive. Since I was budget traveling, I stayed in many unpleasant places (slept on pillows that smelled like someone else’s hair) and went hungry and thirsty many times (broken down bus in the middle of the night in Cambodia during an 18-hour bus ride). All my experiences helped me realize that at the end of it all, our basic needs are truly clothing, shelter, and food.

You must be thinking, “Well, duh!” but if you take an honest look at yourself and at others (of course, in a non-judging way), you’ll soon see that we tend to go overboard. Time and time again I’ll overhear someone say “I really need a pair of jeans because the only pair of jeans I have are no longer in style.” Maybe you don’t know anyone like that, but substitute jeans for anything else (Yoga mat/phone/computer/jacket/shoes). Nonetheless, do we ever really need anything more?

In A Path with Heart written by the ever-inspiring Jack Kornfield, he says:

But when people come to the end of their life and look back, the questions that they most often ask are not usually, “How much is in my bank account?” or “How many books did I write?” or “What did I build?” (…) You find the questions such a person asks are very simple: “Did I love well?” “Did I live fully?” “Did I learn to let go?”

If that’s all that matters at the end of our lives, why do we squander, over an entire lifetime, millions of dollars on impermanent, material, superficial things that we won’t care about at the time of death?

On Saturday, September 26 of this year, Typhoon Ketsana brought the equivalent of one month’s rain in just 12 hours in the Philippine capital of Manila. The homes of nearly 1.9 million people had been flooded and at last count, there have been almost 300 deaths. I am of Philippine origin so when I got news from my mother that our family there was ok, she told me that both families on my her side lost everything. They lived very modestly as it was, but the little they did have was gone. During the storm, my aunt and cousin, holding the family dogs, were forced to climb up to the roof of their home as the water levels were quickly rising. After the storm, my cousin had roamed the streets for days, crying, looking for food to eat, a place to stay, and clean clothes.

So whether you are young or old, life is precious, and most of all, impermanent. Let’s spend the time we do have together loving well, living fully and letting go.