空 (empty) 無 (nothing) 所 (place) 有 (exist)Simplified, 空无所有
所有 possess
Sometimes, in the game of life, you are left without two sticks to rub together. It may not be a bad thing if it's temporary, if you can afford to wait cheerfully. It can most certainly be liberating.
What does it mean to "possess" anyway?
Have (有) a place (所)?
A brush can only be a proper brush when it's placed in the hands of a skilled calligrapher. A blade owned by a good swordsman, an axe by an experienced lumberjack, a Stradivarius by a true artist. Yes, they can own it.
Possession is also an abstract idea, like numbers written on a check. A check is a corporeal object, yet when a contract is not kept, something (有) simply turns into nothing (無). Even if you "own" billions, if you have no true power to move people, you are merely a fund manager slavishly working to guard all that wealth. Until you do not feel the need to tie down something you feel entitled to, it will remain wishful thinking, not true possession.
Then again, it is certainly possible to be on top of the world, feel as if you own it, even as you appear utterly destitute. Funny how that works.
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