"You are not what you own"

...is the graffitti message written on the railroad bridge across the Iowa River. Maybe because it was 6:30 am, maybe because I was in a contemplative mood, maybe because the constant motion of the river seemed to echo the sentiment, but it seemed to me the most profound sentence I'd seen in a long time. I've looked it up on the internet, and so far, all I can find is that it's a quote that was written on a popular T-shirt for the band Fugazi. But to me it was more than a statement against popular materialist culture , it was a call to look at what's really important. It was about more than letting go of dependence on material goods, but "things" of all sorts - job titles, accomplishments, how many friends you have, how many dates you've been on, anything that could be attached to your name.

Because in the end, all we are is the dark brown earth along the riverbank. Not just metaphorically, but literally, we turn into dirt. I don’t mean that to sound depressing, because I don’t think it is – the earth feeds the life that grows all around the river. But the earth doesn’t own anything, and neither do we.