" Attached ... "

“ ... I've tried and tried again to let you go

Even though you're the only have I have in this world

If you leave, what do I do?

Now what do I do? ... 

Heaven, will you let it rain?

I want to hid my tears in the rain

Because I was attached, I was foolishly attached

And even to this day, I love you ... “

*** Brown Eyed Girl ~ Attached ~ 

***

Practicing non-attachment can be liberating but it is yet another practice.  A practice when you learn to relate to your emotions differently ... understanding their impermanence.

Practicing non-attachment allows you to have the ability detangle from emotional states of aversion for the negative or wanting to extend the positive.  The emotions rise and dissolve.  There is perspective.

When you understand the true meaning of non-attachment expectations no longer rule your life ... and the emotions that arise, you have space for.  You relate to the world as it is rather than to your concepts about it.  And you are able to allow life to unfold without needing to control everything.  The sense of spaciousness and freedom felt brings a genuine contentment that starves in temporary experiences.  

And it is good to remember that non-attachment differs from detachment.  Detachment is unresponsive and removed from emotions.  Non-attachment allows us to feel the emotions but not become trapped by them.  Hence when we are non-attached, we still care but we no longer discriminate, feeling love for this person and aversion for another.  

“ ... Neither do we "detach from the body." 

We wisely realize it is not permanent 

and that it is not our true self. 

It is a temporary dwelling for this lifetime. 

But we still need to take care of it 

and treat it with respect as we try to find the balance 

between hedonism and asceticism ... “

So it really isn’t about just “letting go”, the usual cliche used in meditation and yoga classes.  Because detachment and non-attachment differ ... and when we think of letting go, we are programmed to believe that it is something to get rid of or throw out.  Rather than get rid of attachment, we can experience the non- attachment ... simply not holding on, not grasping ... ultimately, we experience PEACE.

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