Day 21 - Attached to My Attachments

I was very pleased with the blog I wrote today. It had to do with work and finding fulfillment as well as learning lessons about ourselves in our work. When I started the process of posting my blog, I hit a wrong key and the whole thing went away. Gone. Into cyberspace or who knows where. Funny - the title was, Lessons Learned. You'd think by now, cut and paste would be a no-brainer for me. Guess not. All it takes is one little brain burp and the work is gone. So now I'm going to write about attachment.

I have choices now that my mini-masterpiece is deleted. I can sit and re-create it - but that's not very satisfying. The joy is in the creation, not in the replication. I could moan and groan and not do a post today because I am so frustrated and annoyed at myself for screwing this up. Or, I can let go of the attachment to that particular piece and start anew. Attachments can cause us grief when we can't let go of something that no longer serves us. Or we can't let go because we are self-righteous or convinced it's the ONLY of something. When I can let go of attachments I open myself to something new - an opportunity, a change for the better or just for the different, a new perspective or simply a life that's less complicated.

I know people who get attached to something they want and everything that surrounds it is tainted because they don't get their way. It's exhausting. I know folks who have a particular point of view and everything becomes yes or no, good or bad, superior or inferior. It's almost impossible to have a real discussion because of their singular stance. There is complexity to our points of view and it's easy to lose the nuance and complexity of a situation because a person is attached only to their position. Those kinds of attachments are limiting and restrict opportunities for understanding and exploration of common ground.

As for me, I have to let go of the attachment I have to the way my life used to be. If I stay attached to the way my life "should" be, I will spend a lot of time bemoaning my fate and losing the opportunity to live the life I have. That doesn't mean I have to give up or to succumb - but it does mean that I can open myself up to seeing my life in a new, more gentle way. I don't have to judge the changes - I can simply describe them, make the most of them and find ways to enjoy them. Taking away the judgement is another way to reduce my attachments and when my attachments give me great satisfaction, I need to understand that there is still an ebb and flow. I have to be sure not to make those attachments reliant only on my needs and my perspective. Leaving some space for another point of view can be a very healthy thing.