Buddhist teaching includes the lesson about attachment as a form of suffering.
I never understood this concept because I believe connections are healthy and a natural and beautiful part of life.
I view attachments to my family, my friends, my community, my beliefs and values...like the roots of a tree providing a strong foundation in which to grow and thrive. To make sense of the world.
Sparkling, living tendrils that come straight from my heart and entwine into those I hold near and dear. It brings me joy and solace knowing I am connected to my loved ones.
How can this cause suffering or be something to actively let go of throughout my life?
Becoming unattached seems to me like letting go and blowing away in a chaotic and harmful storm. Or like getting lost in space. Neither of these visuals make me feel safe and secure. It makes me anxious with feelings of lack of control!
Yet the Buddhist lesson keeps circling back to me causing me to think deeper about what this means to suffer as a result of being attached.
What if letting go is ultimate freedom? What if these heartstrings are leashes of heartache instead of happiness? What if attachments are holding me back?
Am I suffering? Grasping things I love, holding on tight so I don't lose them? So I can keep ahead of the pain that comes with loss?
Freefall into the unknown, freedom, free of suffering. Free of anxiety and hopelessness over inevitable losses. Worrying about the future. Wondering about the meaning of it all and if I need to release some of my control.
Because understanding and accepting I have zero control is the lesson I need to truly become unattached and find peace.
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Inner Ugliness
PoetryA compilation of raw poetry that I have written spontaneously without editing myself.
