Our life on earth is, and ought to be, material and carnal. But we have not yet learned to manage our materialism and carnality properly; they are still entangled with the desire for ownership.
LAND, n. A part of the earth's surface, considered as property. The theory that land is property subject to private ownership and control is the foundation of modern society . . .
Bit by bit . . . she had claimed herself. Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.
She plucked from my lapel the invisible strand of lint (the universal act of woman to proclaim ownership).
When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of that relationship.