“The Leased Life”~
Living as an Authentic Steward
by Gayle Colman, CFP®
Recently an article in the newspaper rocked my world. And let me tell you, the news rarely rocks my world so this is really exciting. The author (Rebecca Tuhus-Durrow) elaborates on a subject near and dear to my heart, way of being and a conversation I had with my father while I was a budding teenager. In the conversation with my father he offered me the idea of being a Steward by noting that we really don’t own anything in this world, we are merely Stewards. I’ve held this belief (and powerful knowing) all of my life and this article expands the possibilities of what authentic stewardship can look like.
The author asks up front, “Why own anything?” and then shares a number of examples of what non-ownership means. My favorite is the wheelbarrow. A fellow was working in his yard and needed a wheelbarrow; he did not own one and did not want to purchase one for the 5 times a year that he uses a wheelbarrow for yard-work; he borrows his neighbor’s wheelbarrow. After a second time, he feels self-conscious borrowing and rents the tool from a store. With this experience, he wonders about renting from his neighbor instead of the store. He could have fulfilled his need without feeling like a freeloader and given his neighbor a modest bonus. With his wondering an inspiration for this sharing/renting was ignited: Rentalic.com. This site connects people who own things they rarely use with people who want to use things without owning them. Simple. I have not visited the website yet. But I am imagining the long term effects and the possibilities of expanded fulfillment, ecological awareness, product sustainability and consumption care that could be … if only, I lived as an authentic steward. I can start by steeping in the question, “Why own anything?” How about you? What do you really own? Why own anything?
