It's a Jungle

“Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.” John Wooden, retired American basketball coach b 1910)


It was the perfect location…at least that’s what Eddie had told them. Very secluded, very scenic, accessible though it wasn’t the easiest place to get to. If this did turn out to be the “perfect location” all their equipment would still need to be schlepped in and that might not be easy. Eddie had picked them up at the airport and they were on their way to the area he had recommended. All their luggage was stowed in the back since they hadn’t taken the time to check in at the hotel. Eddie was at the wheel of the SUV rocketing along the two lane black top which was quickly narrowing to a single lane and not a very good single lane either. Don and Robbie, jet lagged and cranky, glanced at each other wondering if this was another one of Eddie’s wild goose chases.

Suddenly, Eddie hit the on-demand four- wheel drive and hung a hard right onto a dirt road. They were headed straight into the jungle. The dirt gave way to grass as the vehicle began to slow. Foliage slapped at the windows. Finally, Eddie glided the SUV to a stop. The road dead ended in a large clearing surrounded by dense tropical foliage. Even the way they had come in seemed to be swallowed up in greenery. Eddie jumped out of the SUV, raised his arms over his head in a V, palms up, fingers slightly bent. He spun slowly as he made his way along the lush green carpet. “What did I tell you?” he exclaimed loudly. “This is the perfect place for the shoot.” Don and Robbie climbed out slowly and stiffly. They looked around without moving for a few moments then began walking toward Eddie who was standing at the far end of the clearing, arms still extended like a TV evangelist.

“I told you this was perfect” Eddie said, turning toward the other two and finally lowering his arms. Don and Robbie were carefully examining the location. They had been looking for a place like this to shoot several key scenes for their next movie. This place…had possibilities. “What do you say?” asked Eddie. “Perfect or what?” Don and Robbie looked at each other again. “Let’s get the hand held out and shoot some footage,” Don said finally. The compact portable camera was pulled from its case in the back of their vehicle and Robbie began shooting brief segments testing angles and lighting.

The three became so engrossed with what they were doing; they didn’t hear the sound at first. Gradually they became aware of the distinctive drone of a diesel engine approaching from the same direction they had come. By the time they all three turned to see what it was a late model stake bed truck burst into the clearing. Leaning against the truck cab to balance themselves, two grim looking men stood in the bed of the truck. Each was holding an ancient carbine at the ready. Don noticed, while the men looked like they meant business, they did not bear the stoic countenance or arrogant look of movie bad guys ala Clint Eastwood’s early films. In fact, he thought he detected a flicker of desperation in their eyes.

The truck lurched to a stop and out of the passenger’s side of the cab climbed a thirtyish man with curly black hair, a scruffy beard, dirty khaki’s and a collarless short sleeved pullover. He carried an old Army 45 Automatic in a flapped holster on which his hand now rested. “We are not here to hurt you,” he began, raising his arms, palms forward as if he were being held at gunpoint instead of them. “But we do want anything you have of value.” Eddie started toward the man, but Don put his hand on his chest to stop him. “Go ahead and take what you want,” Don said quietly.

At a signal from the leader the two men jumped down from the truck bed. One nervously kept his carbine pointed in the direction of Don and the others, while the driver, the leader and the other man rummaged through the SUV with what appeared to be relative care. The men took the camera equipment, lap tops, iPods and all three cell phones. They also took all their cash, but surprisingly let them keep their credit cards and passports.

Finally the leader, one of the lap top computers still in his hand, turned to Eddie. “Your keys… please.” Eddie hesitated, but finally relinquished the keys. The leader seemed to weigh them in his hand for a moment. “I will hang these on the wooden post by the road where you turned in.” “It’s about a kilometer from here…an easy walk.” “You need to be out of here by sunset, it’s not safe here after dark.” Don and Robbie smiled ironically (“or in daylight either”) then glowered at Eddie who was staring at the ground.

The leader headed back to the truck. At the door he paused for a moment then turned back around. “Please don’t think too badly of us,” he began. “We do not like doing this, but you can go back to America and replace all your nice things, but us…” He hoisted the lap top up next to his head. “The money we get for this will feed our families for a year.” With a nod he headed for the truck, climbed in and motioned to the driver to back up. A moment before they disappeared through the green wall of foliage he waved…and they were gone.

Eddie, Don and Robbie stood there staring at the spot where the truck had just disappeared. Robbie looked at Eddie for a moment: “The perfect spot, huh?” he quipped; rolling his eyes…then he turned and headed for the SUV.

“Need” is a relative term. I often catch myself saying things like, “I need a new lap top.” This is the alluring thing about possessions. As our wealth and comfort increases so do our “needs” or what we think of as needs. What was once a luxury, like a new lap top, we now perceive as a need? One might call this “possession abuse.” Like any type of substance abuse, as the habit grows, more and more (of the substance) is needed to quench our appetite. “Possession abuse” implies the more possessions we have, the more, bigger; better possessions are required to satiate our desire for them. And the more we have, the more we have to worry about.

If our desires can never be satiated then we are always experiencing escalating need. If we live in a constant state of escalating need how can we ever be grateful…to live life with a sense of gratitude? To satiate ourselves requires us to constantly saturate our desires even though this approach will never satisfy us…we will constantly be searching for our next fix.

Gratitude, on the other hand, is satisfying. Gratitude means being in a state of constant thankfulness. True thankfulness can be sustained without escalation. For instance, I am very thankful for the church I attend, but I wouldn’t be any more thankful if I had another one just like it or if it were bigger and/or more ornate, nor do I need to be there to experience the gratitude I feel because of it.

In a state of gratitude we are thankful for what we have no matter what we have. Some might call this a state of grace. However, when we are in a state of possession abuse we will never be thankful for what we have no matter how much we have. Not too surprisingly, gratitude is one of the “skills” which is cultivated in recovery programs (such as AA and NA). It is a skill we would all do well to nurture in ourselves.

The leader of the band of thieves made a valid observation: Eddie, Don and Robbie did return home and replaced all their stuff. Undoubtedly they saw their lap tops, cell phones, camera equipment and iPods as necessities. They even comforted themselves for there loss by buying bigger, better, nicer stuff. On the other hand, to the thieves, the lap top (and the other stuff) represented a necessity rather than a desire: a means of obtaining, food, nourishment for their families…sustenance. But regardless of how much or how little we have we must always acknowledge that everything is a gift from God for which we should be grateful. It is our thankfulness which needs to increase, not our possessions. Otherwise we are doomed to be unhappy.

Dear God, release me from the bondage of possessions that I might better do your will.

"Why grab possessions like thieves, or divide them like socialists when you can ignore them like wise men?" Natalie Clifford Barney, American playwright, poet and novelist (1876 – 1972)


© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.
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