My cousin is getting married this year, and the family is very lively. During the dinner table conversation about buying a house, I couldn't help but think of my piano teacher.

She taught piano in her old house for twenty years, and ultimately chose to exchange the money she saved for a house to buy a Steinway piano.

She believes that a house confines people, but music can take people to a farther place.

Her approach enlightened me: we always equate possession with security, but true sense of security comes from the ability to choose. Her value is embodied in the piano keys, not locked in the property deed.

This reminds me of Buffett's wisdom: what matters is never what assets you own, but the ability to continuously create value. People who can swim don't ask where the shore is; those with real skills never worry about having no place to settle.

Maturity might be the ability to distinguish what others tell you you must have, and what you truly need and can master.