Remaining unattached to people, places and things came up in a big way this past week. Not just for me but several people I spoke with were experiencing significant events that were shaking their foundations.
Feeling compassion for when we do our best and are faced with challenges.
- A multi-million dollar contract falls through that jeopardizes a business
- A person’s past comes back to haunt them even though it’s not relevant today
- A stock market trade results in $30,000 personal loss
- Feeling insecure after losing a job or starting a new venture
- Where’s the money going to come from to sustain a business or family
- Feeling lonely and unloved after a break-up with a partner
- Experiencing pain from health issues
Being detached brings freedom. My yoga teacher observed how older people become less attached to their physical possessions. But how about our inner thoughts and attachments. The seemingly smaller stuff that keeps us from feeling free.
Freedom to express our thoughts and opinions because you're worried about what people will think or say. Detached to how our ideas will be accepted by others when we put them out into the world. Detached from fear and scarcity that prevents us from living the life we dream about.
Ultimately, the big thing is that we feel free to be authentic. Being able to live on purpose, take action and not be attached to any particular outcome.
Freedom to express our thoughts and opinions because you're worried about what people will think or say. Detached to how our ideas will be accepted by others when we put them out into the world. Detached from fear and scarcity that prevents us from living the life we dream about.
Ultimately, the big thing is that we feel free to be authentic. Being able to live on purpose, take action and not be attached to any particular outcome.
Joseph Campbell spoke about the Buddhist philosophy that suffering arises from attachment to desires. The big three categories involve to some degree attachment to love, security and self-esteem. What if I lose my house, my business, my job, my money, my possessions, my lover, my looks, my health, my life.
My Mom volunteers at hospice and she has many stories of people who are dying but are in a state of grace and inner peace. She shared this quote with me some time ago.
An Angel says, “Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn’t happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.”
How do we let go of our worries? How do we get to a place of detachment earlier in life?
One of my favourite books is “10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace” by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He writes the following about releasing our attachments.
“The first secret has two components: (1) a mind that is open to everything, and (2) a mind that is attached to nothing. Your attachments are the source of all your problems. The need to be right, to possess someone or something, to win at all costs, to be viewed by others as superior—these are all attachments. The open mind resists these attachments and consequently experiences inner peace and success.”
An analogy for detachment is having a bandage put over a wound and eventually it needs to be removed for the sore to completely heal. Whether it’s a slow or quick process it usually stings for a bit.
Have compassion for yourself and others when we feel the sting. A sign that we're coming back into wholeness.
Peace and Joy ~
Sheila
xo
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