“Why is detachment so difficult to understand? Perhaps the problem lies in confusing being detached with being uninterested. Actually, they are opposites. If you are uninterested, you withdraw, you turn your back on life, which in a way denies the difficulty of life. To be detached is to stand in the middle of the marketplace, with all its confusion and noise, and to remain present to yourself and to all that is.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga
In my last post I wrote about suffering and it being a consequence of attachment — to what we want, what we don’t want, the way we think things should be, the way we think we should be. Well, if attachment causes suffering, then perhaps detachment eases suffering.
Today I invite you to practice being present and letting go.
“If I am honest, I must admit that I own nothing. I have to give back everything when I die: my body, my feelings, my mind, my thoughts, my experiences, my education, my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my profession, and even my yoga — absolutely everything I think I am.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga
So often we fear feeling sadness when we contemplate or anticipate detachment, impermanence, letting go, only to find that even if we do pass through those feelings, just on the other side there is lightness, joy, and freedom waiting for us.
I think we are afraid that if we detach, let go, even if it’s from something we don’t particularly like, and especially if it’s something we do like, that we’ll disappear. You will not disappear; rather you will emerge, appearing in your purest, truest form.
“Remember impermanence when things go badly, so you will not be overly burdened by your troubles. And remember it especially when things go well, so you will be present enough cherish the sweet moments of your life.” — Judith Hanson Lasater, Living Your Yoga
So, we do our best in the moment, love the hell out of ourselves and those around us, and then move onto the next moment. It begins with being fully present so that we can be self-aware of our movement from one moment to the next.
Krystal Barschig 