Hi Nirmal,
- cheap or luxurious or anything else, stuff is around only to serve a human life, not the other way round; many "modern" people get this upside down. The first limb among the eight limbs of yoga, Yama (ethical disciplines)contains among other points Aparigraha: non-hoarding, non-collecting, non-bribing. Aparigraha is another shade of other yamas (asteya - non stealing) and niyamas (tapas - moderation/austerity), beacause non-attachment to fancy things, money, success etc., lessens suffering. The ego has made up materialist substitutes, to avoid real happiness, because happiness would challenge its fear of change.
For example, former East Germany wasn't exactly notorious for happiness... But many people there used to cling to their Trabis (explanation for non-Europeans: an extremely small and polluting plastic vehicle which sort of resembled a car
) more than a rich West German would cling to his luxury car. Some committed very dubious deeds against their fellow citizens only to obtain a vehicle under the old regime. So whenever a thing feels important to me, I try to figure out what kind of a
real lack in my life it conceals. I also try to keep stuff to a minimum by all means. When I happen to have several of the same and only need one in my everyday life, I give it off or sell it cheap second-hand. It's a mental detox. Their purpose i to make a human life simpler
somewhere, rather than gathering dust on my shelves.
Our projections charge stuff with an importance it doesn't have for real. As long as you haven't lost a living being, it's easier to start looking through the attachment.
Also, it's good to remind yourself that happiness is much more about the inside than about what's around you. My favorite Tantra meditation is recalling in detail some moments of utter joy, including my state of mind during those moments. Then dropping the memories completely but still keeping the state of mind. It gives me a much-needed reminder that happiness comes from within.
Enjoy!