What Is Mine Is Mine

Which one do you hold?

1. What is yours is yours and what is mine is mine.

2. What is yours is yours and what is mine is also yours.

3. What is mine is mine and what is yours is also mine.

I believe the third option holds true if we are selfish and greedy. This is especially true when we are childish and naive. We insist on keeping everything to ourselves, and we want everything out there to be ours too.

I have seen many children and young people to be like that, and I wonder if there are many older people who would continue to do the same. They would argue until the other person(s) gives in. It is very important that they win.

I was like that when I was young. What is mine is mine, and what is yours is also mine. Life is a chasing after everything there is to own and more. There is no end to chasing after all we want, and we would want to compete and beat all other competitors, regardless of whether they are our family, relatives or friends.

I believe as we become mature and more tolerant, we would slowly shift to the first option. Now we are still individualistic, but we can slowly put up with the people around us. Now what is mine is mine, and what is yours is yours.

We still go after all the things we want. We are still very competitive. But now we are more ready to admit and accept defeats and failures. We finally realize that we are only talented in certain fields, and winning isn't everything in life. We need love and care, and we need the people around us.

We talk about cooperation and team work. We talk about mutual help and benefits. It is kind of nice when we can work together for a better and brighter future.

Of course, there would still be times when we insist on having our own way. Old habits die hard, isn't it?

But then, if we are married or live together with our family, our life may change yet again. Now we learn to be more sensitive to other people's needs. We are more loving, forgiving and humble; we can readily accept people and give encouragements, acknowledgments and appreciations; and we would want to work and do things together. Now we slowly learn to eliminate our self ego and give way to more self-be. Now the second option may dominate: What is yours is yours, and what is mine may also be yours.

As we grow and mature, we may realize that earning and owning the whole world isn't everything that is to live. We need other people in our lives. We need our family, relatives, friends, colleagues, neighbors, etc. And we must find way and find time to communicate and share and learn from one another.

It is not easy to be humble; some of us continue to be very proud until today. But we will ultimately, when our age, and our infirmities and weaknesses are slowly chasing and overtaking us.

What the Lord God has given us, it is always for the good of everyone around us. It would be good if we can consider other people when we make our decisions. Life is not so much about self-pleasing and self-gratification. It is more than that when we are living together.

Now what is mine is ours, and what is yours is also ours.

How nice it would be if we can more willingly share everything we have with others.