Sense of Self... and how I am now a proud car owner...

So for the first time in my life I am a proud car owner. I just finished purchasing a Subaru Legacy. My name is on the title, registration, insurance, and license plate (which is in my glove compartment waiting to be attached). I don't think I've ever felt so proud to own anything. This little shoddy used car gives me such a sense of freedom. I can pick up and go anywhere, and if anything happens to it, I am responsible for it. It's liberating and it makes me proud to know that I worked for it and saved for it and that it is deservedly mine.

So this got me thinking. What does the word mine really mean? Is it just a word that expresses the ownership of property? When I think of things that are uniquely mine, I can easily sum it up in material things. I own some clothes, some furniture, some accessories, a passport, a diploma, and now a car. And all of these things, because they are my property, define who I am. But those are not the only things that are mine -- there is a far vaster non-material realm which describes what is mine .

How I look, think, feel, smell, portray myself to others and act are all essential parts to defining me. My culture, my history, my education, and my experiences are uniquely my own as well. So this is the question: how to mine and me fit together? Mine is that which belongs to me. Granted. But mine is also that which defines me. More importantly, mine is that which defines my perception of myself -- both the material and non-material aspects.

How different would I be if I didn't own the clothes, furniture, accessories, passport, diploma, and car that I do? Who would I be if I thought, felt, smelled, portrayed myself, and acted differently? What would be left of me if I was stripped of my culture, my history, my education, and my experiences? Obviously these are rhetorical questions, as I do not believe it is entirely possible to do. But it does make me want to put my life in perspective and think about what would need to be taken away from me, or be different, in order for me not to feel like myself anymore.

I have been without material possessions. My house burned down when I lived in South Africa and I was left with nothing but the clothes I had on. But I didn't feel less than myself for it. In fact, I can recall few instances where I felt more alive.

I have experienced changes in attitudes, beliefs, and physical characteristics. My butt didn't always use to be this big, and I don't still want to join GreenPeace.

I have experienced a significant loss of my original culture and a syncretism with North American culture, I suppose, since moving here four years ago. And my education and my experiences have been significantly increasing since the day I was born.

So it's a hard question to answer.

But what better way to spend ones time than to attempt to express ones sense of self rationally?