In the Taoist view, individuals who are materially oriented - who identify themselves with their possessions - have no real purpose in the universe other than moving matter from place to place and reproducing life forms that may ultimately have the potential for intellectual evolution. Materially oriented individuals cannot evolve intellectually because their attachment to and hoarding of matter trains the mind to view reality as fixed and not flowing. This view is in harmony with dying, not growth, and thus they cannot with the larger meaning behind consciousness. Those who follow the Tao realize that they are in a more powerful position when they are mobile, unburdened, and independent. for the Taoist, excessive possessions are treated like ballast. they are released to gain greater buoyancy. Just as air rushes in to fill a vacuum, more things will come into and pass through such lives. Most important, the capacity to need less and pass things on brings Evolved Individuals closer to themselves and closer to the continuous unfolding of reality - a perspective of advantage in the world.
From R. L. Wing's translation of the Tao of Power