In our modern world, it seems that everything forms the basis of happiness: family, education, property – all these promise satisfaction, but they often turn out to be just a temporary substitute for real values.

The Illusion of Possession: When Everything is Temporary

In our modern world, it seems that everything forms the basis of happiness: family, education, property – all these promise satisfaction, but they often turn out to be just a temporary substitute for real values. At the beginning we dream of possession, viewing external achievements as a guarantee of life; however, over time we come to understand that these gifts are merely ephemeral resources, "rented" until the very end. The constant race for material goods can lead to the loss of something important—as possessions accumulate, our inner world, our ability to feel, think, and live in harmony with ourselves may diminish. Even the most successful people, surrounded by abundance, often realize that no external value can replace the depth of inner satisfaction. This makes us reconsider our priorities and search for sources of genuine happiness, which do not depend on fleeting material acquisitions. Ultimately, the most valuable asset is the inner harmony that remains with us forever and bestows true fulfillment in life.

How can we explain the situation in which, having the opportunity to obtain everything, a person ends up with nothing?

This situation, where it seems that all possibilities are open yet a person ends up with nothing, is explained by the inherent emptiness and temporary nature of external acquisitions. As noted in one saying, everything that seems attainable in this world—family, property, education—is only given "on rent" until the end of life:

"With what shall you paddle? You will suffer: you desire it, you desire it—but nothing remains, emptiness. The Lord said: whoever has nothing, even that which he thinks he has, will be taken away from him. Do you think you have children? Do you think you have a family, an education, money, an apartment? It is all temporary, all given on rent until the day of death, and after that you have nothing." (source: link txt)

Furthermore, the constant pursuit of external goods leads to the gradual loss of not only one’s capacities but also one's inner world, as material wealth accumulates. This is expressed in the following quote:

"And so it turns out: a person becomes wealthy and seemingly has everything. But first, one hand is lost, then the other, then the heart, then the mind, and in the end, he possesses nothing, having become an object of possession himself." (source: link txt)

Finally, even possessing all that is external does not bring satisfaction, as shown by the wisdom of the richest man who, despite his apparent achievements, acknowledged the futility of these accumulations:

"He was the richest person on earth, the smartest, the most educated; he had seven hundred wives, so everything was in order; whatever the soul desired, he had it all—but he said: all of this is vanity. He deeply understood that no matter how much a person indulges in the external, it will never satisfy him." (source: link txt)

Thus, the situation in which, despite having the opportunity to obtain everything, a person ultimately gets nothing, arises because external goods are inherently ephemeral and impermanent, and the constant pursuit of them distances one from true inner values.