Desire and possession go together similar to the way bees and flowers go together. You can't have one without the other. When we desire something or someone, we desire to possess that thing or person. Even the desire for an event to take place is the desire to possess something or someone. We desire to win the lottery to possess money. We desire for someone to Love us so we can possess that Love. The belief that we are able to possess anything leads to the objects and people we desire becoming objects of our desire. We no longer see the objects of our desires as what they truly are, we simply see them as objects to possess.
One of the most absurd things that we have been taught through modern "romance" is Love equals possession of the person of which we "Love". Think of all the movies, books, and tv shows which portray the idea that as long as you desire someone, they can be yours to possess as long as you try hard enough. People are not possessions, but we have been made to believe that we are. When one desires another, and the other doesn't reciprocate that desire, it can lead to infatuation and heartache on one end and stalking and murder on the other end. How often do we see people rape and murder with no semblance of remorse or humanity, it's because they don't see the person that they raped or murdered, they only see the "object" and objects don't matter.
Modern romance came about from history where women were viewed as a man's property and sadly there are still plenty of people who are alive today who still believe this distorted view. We can also state the obvious here that people were also believed to be just objects all throughout history by the means of slavery.
Why do we humans try to possess as many things and people as we can? That's a very in-depth question with a lot of variables but if we can simplify it down to the belief that we can if fact possess something or someone and not wanting to face the cold hard truth which is we can possess nothing it becomes obvious why. What can we possess? What can we take with us when we die? We can't take anyone with us when we die. We can't take anything with us when we die. We can't take our own bodies with us when we die, our bodies are left to disintegrate and go back to the earth in which it came. We can't possess our memories since they can fade due to diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia. Since our memories are stored within our brain, and the brain is stored within the body, and we lose the body at death we also lose our memories. Same goes for personality, identity, knowledge and character. We don't possess our emotions or experiences as they come and go. Some of us try to possess our past selves, always living in the past and never the present.
As long as we attempt to do the impossible which is to possess things we will never be satisfied. Chasing and never catching is an extremely frustrating endeavor and a futile attempt. When we let go of the silly notion that we can possess anything we are freed to experience life as it is. Truly enjoying the beauty all around. Instead of focusing on specific objects to possess, we could be focusing on all that is constantly coming into our lives. When we let people go, it opens the door for new people to come into our lives who are more suited to our current situations. When we let of our past, it makes way for the present. When we let go of anger and resentment, it allows peace and joy to show up.
This too shall pass applies to everything in this universe. We Love that phrase when we apply it to pain and suffering, none of us want to feel pain and suffering. We hate that phrase when we apply it to joy and peace, we all want to hold onto our joy and peace forever and never let it go. Trying to hold onto joy and peace is just another way of trying to possess something. Everything comes and goes; all things must pass. Love and Peace!