Monday, October 9, 2017

The Practice of Non-Attachment

The practice of non-attachment is both a complicated and a very simple concept. The complication comes from a life trained to be attached - we are raised to be goal setters, achievers, always looking to the outcome to judge whether or not we have been successful. The simplicity comes when you realize that life is so much fuller when you let go of all that striving and seeking after things you cannot control.

Some of my personal history involves this training to be a high achiever, always setting goals and ensuring that I hit the mark. Spiritually I was taught that God had a specific purpose for each person and that He would reveal that purpose/identity to the individual....this concept often leads to years and years of long-suffering as one seeks to FIND that purpose/identity. I believe that many religious people follow this path of seeking their "calling" - and there is often a subsequent feeling of short coming or failure when that "calling" is not made clear. Everyone wants to be a Moses and have that "burning bush" experience where God opens the heavens and calls your name clearly to do a certain task.....Realistically this is not something that happens to every individual, and many are left feeling unworthy or "un-called" when that burning bush experience does not come to them.

This is what it looks like spiritually to be attached to an idea of what your life "should" be. I am speaking personally here and I realize that not everyone will have the same life experience that I have had....To me, though, I am learning to see this sort of seeking as a form of attachment to an idea and desire of what you believe your life should look like. I was raised to believe that those "burning bush" moments would come often for the true Christian. Over time I am learning that this is not truth.

I believe that every individual was created for a purpose and that this purpose is multi-faceted. It is not limited to a title or an occupation or a "calling". I am learning to understand that we can bring glory to God in every moment of our life, in the small chores we tend to throughout the day, in the words we speak to strangers and friends alike. While there may come a time in a persons life when there is a "burning bush" experience that takes place, it is only secondary to the daily opportunities of service and worship that we are given. I think too much emphasis has been placed on that special moment, that special calling, and too often people spend their whole lives seeking after that - all the while missing the daily opportunities of service and to live a life that brings glory to God.

All of this attachment to the need to be special, to be recognized as a godly person.....this attachment to outcome and to outward glory is not actually spiritual at all. This is the Ego at work. This is the Ego needing to be recognized as more special than the person next to us.

Over the past few months this thought has been with me around what this idea of attachment looks like in my life. Daily I am working towards living a life of non-attachment. A life that is not seeking outcome. A life that is at peace with the daily tasks of serving others without the need to be given a title or occupation or acknowledgement. This is to live detached from outcome and to truly practice Karma Yoga - the act of doing a task for that tasks sake.

What ideals do you feel attached to today? What do you feel that you are seeking after and striving towards? What areas of dis-content are leaving you feeling overwhelmed or stressed?.....Take some time today to meditate on these areas and allows space in your heart to let them go.

"I allow myself to let go of the need to achieve and become something; recognizing that I am already enough just as I am today. Today I allow my focus to be specifically on the people I meet and the tasks I am given; that I might bring joy and peace to those who cross my path."~Namaste

No comments: