If you give up your demands for more possessions and material matters, you will save yourself much needless sadness.
Sadness does not come from lacking possessions, but from your "lack of acceptance" at not having them.
Next time, when you are unable to acquire something, accept that you do not have it -- and avoid adding emotional pain to your practical problem of not having that thing.
Should you avoid material possessions? No. Just don't make oneself sad about those things you do not have.
(Maaneh Rach, ch.5; Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, p.175)
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About the Author
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Rabbi Zelig Pliskin is a noted psychologist and prolific author of 24 books, including Guard Your Tongue, Gateway to Happiness, Gateway to Self Knowledge, Love Your Neighbor, Growth Through Torah, The Power of Words, Consulting the Wise, and the recent Life is Now. Rabbi Pliskin lives in Jerusalem, and is the director of Aish HaTorah's Counseling Center and a senior lecturer at Aish's Essentials program and the Executive Learning Center. He was ordained at the Telshe Yeshiva in Ohio and holds a degree in Counseling Psychology.