Is mine always singular? Can mine be mine to many? With tangible objects singular possessive seems reasonable. These shoes are mine. Those markers are mine. But with the evolution and the complexity of the object, the pure possession of it becomes questionable. These song lyrics are mine. These paintings are mine. These recipes are mine. Once something can be shared or absorbed or learned or consumed by others, the ability to retain possession is forever changed and probably impossible. The only way to keep mine to myself is to lock it away and never share. A song can have a point of origin. The song writer owns the thought and is assigned credit for the creation, but when she shares the song, others now possess it, too. The song and how it is experienced can be called mine be any and all who hear it. “This is my favorite song.” A chef creates a new recipe and bakes a delicious cake and serves it to his friends. Each person can delve into their dessert and claim, “This cake is mine!” A single thing can be mine to many once it is shared or offered.
People we love are similar. Indeed, to love another, to know another, is to accept that they are known by others. I can feel in my heart that you are mine and mine alone. Yet, the person I love has a mother who calls them mine. They have a father who feels as possessive. They may have a child who stakes their own claim. A former lover may have known them in a past time, when they were younger, and the part of them that they once knew is theirs. We all share the same mine.
I cannot possess green. I cannot claim green is mine. I see green my way, the concept of green is defined by my experience with green. Someone else’s green is different. But…we are both knowledgeable about green. It is the same green….but also different. The variability is the lusciousness of life; it is the texture of learning and experiencing life. There may be few sensations as unique as to experience mine from another’s perspective. I see through another’s eyes and heart their own sense of mine. If someone I love is mine for me…..and yet also mine for others….I am overjoyed. For so many to hold one dear and near as to claim them as mine is a blessing. It does not diminish mine for me in any way.
=Q=
This reminds me of a old saying “What is mine is yours & what is yours is mine”. This has me deep in thought with every aspect of life.