Attachment detachment has always been a fascinating concept to me.
Most of us are great at attachment but when it comes to detaching for the greater good we have a hard time doing it.
Mostly because detachment has a negative implication. People who are detached are made out to be cold and uncaring. Detachment itself is often related to selfishness and manipulation. So when it comes time for us to let go of certain things in our lives, be it relationships that no longer serve us or ideas we hold about ourselves or others, we tend to think that the noble thing to do, is to hold on.
Very often we feel the best and biggest sense of relief when we let go and trust that we did what we could, we tried our best with what we knew at the time and now we need to be at peace and be less invested in the outcomes of our efforts.
This is a scary prospect for all of us, because oftentimes the things, people, and responsibilities we need to let go of are not really about others but more about us. Our identities, our worlds as we have constructed them, our time and how we have distributed it, our knowledge pool and attention as we have placed it and acquired it all hang in the balance of the people and things that hold them. Any shift in moving one receptacle will cause the carefully constructed house of cards to tumble into a heaping pile of raw material, that will send us back into construction exploration and rebuilding mode.
Hence we avoid change like the plague whereas, we all know that change is the only constant in life. We avoid rethinking our lives and we stick to things we know even when the evidence is clear that what worked once, is not working anymore.
This brings me to the one thing being an art student taught me, courage. Courage is not having your contingencies laid out neatly or plan B’s set up correctly but it is the faith you have in yourself. Even if things are uncertain, confusing, unfamiliar, the knowledge that you will be fine and you have all the tools to handle any and every situation that comes your way. Knowing that every experience you have had, good and bad has been preparing you for life’s toughest climbs. You fall into a place of surrender and letting go.
You are okay with some silence, some emptiness, some upheaval, some unfamiliar scenarios because you know that you will find the next piece of the puzzle and you will be guided towards your next move if you listen.
So cultivating courage is the first thing we need to do in our development.
I want to leave us with a quote by Paulo Coelho
Always listen to your heart, it knows all the answers. It belongs to the soul of the earth and will return there.
Paulo Coelho
Sending you love and light
Hawra
