Detachment, Love and Compassion

Most of us become attached to our homes, communities, image, people…the list is endless. When we lose those things, or people, that we are attached to, we suffer. What would happen if we could accept the impermanence of our physical world and let go of our attachments? Could we let go of attachments to communities and familiar places? How about people?

The only way you will know if you are attached to something is to let it go. Each New Year reminds us to do just that.  However, for most of us, letting go may be easier with some things than others as I learned after moving from my Old Greenwich home two years ago and losing my mother this past fall. Leaving behind my community and home taught me that I was indeed attached to the physical place.  Two years after moving I am still grieving their loss. Why do I continue to be attached to a place that is no longer mine? Perhaps it is because I envisioned myself there permanently. People, places and things are impermanent. Love, on the other hand, is eternal.

I was very sad when my mom passed away, but I was able to let her go not only because she was physically suffering, but also because I accept death as a part of life. More importantly, I could let her go because her love lives on. Physical things pass and leave no trace. Love is an everlasting flame that burns in our hearts. My love for my mom, and her love for me, still exists. I miss her physical presence, but the legacy of her love lives on. The feeling of love, the language of the heart, transcends time and space and therefore becomes permanent in our hearts. So, for this New Year, I will energetically detach myself from all that is not permanent and hitch my wagon to eternal love. It is this love, and the compassion that inevitably flows from it, which helps us to accept impermanence and still engage with and care for the physical world and all of humanity.