They say detachment is the practice of making sure that nothing owns us, while we own everything. Today, we will look into the process, or the law of detachment, which is a core part of spirituality & a release from desire. Even though this term is often misunderstood, it’s the secret to becoming a loving being.
Let’s see what we can learn about the law of detachment
What exactly is Detachment?
Detachment is a state of mind where a person overcomes their attachment to desires, concepts & people & gains a heightened perspective of the world around them. Attachment becomes the main obstacle when it comes to living a fulfilled & serene life. Detachment is what provides peace of mind & a stressless view of our surroundings. To be more precise, as John B. Bejo says, “Detachment is an art of enjoying something while always being open to the possibility of losing it someday.”
Detachment for Freedom
We form certain bonds with the people around us or the things that we own – this exactly is attachment. Anything that we own or use for our survival or enjoyment is surely a source of such attachments. These attachments create a sense of dependency within us & leave us with an impression that we can’t and won’t survive without them. Having too many attachments leads us to cling to them more and more.
Anything related to these attachments can control our mood, actions & state of being. We may feel overwhelmed at times because of these attachments, even feel a sense of pain or loss if they vanish. Being bound to our thoughts leads us to anger, misery, anxiety, and stress. Detachment lets us out of these chains of attachments & shows us the ultimate pathway to freedom.
Learning to Let Go
Almost everything around us or in our lives is beyond our control. We struggle to let go of situations that we can’t control & people who are not under our control. It’s because we think that holding onto our attachments is what makes us happy, but in reality, true happiness comes from staying aloof, free and sublime like a lotus flower.
We keep confusing sensual pleasure and emotional gratification for our ultimate ecstasy, as a result, we keep getting dearly attached to things and people who give us just that. So, yes, letting go is nothing but loosening our grip on attachments & getting over our fixation on certain things or people. Now, it does not mean we will lose everything, it just means that even if we lose something, we will be right.
Why is Detachment and Letting Go so difficult?
Holding onto certain attachments has become an ingrained habit within us. Being fixated on our attached identities, like a Business Owner, or a Friend, or a Lover has made us forget about our own uniqueness, so we cannot think of ourselves without these titles, hence, we fixate on these ownerships & relationships & force our happiness onto these labels. And this, certainly, stops us from being at our best because we’re mostly anxious, overwhelmed, or scared to lose anything and everything that comes with these labels. Sometimes, emotions – even negative ones become parts of our identity, and we’re often too afraid to let go of them because we’re too scared of losing parts of ourselves.
How Detachment Can Transform Our Perspective & life
The more attachments we have in life, the more entangled and cluttered our life becomes. Detachment teaches us to do the right thing just for the sake of it and not for the results. It surely isn’t an excuse to be careless or ignorant, rather it teaches us to find happiness within our own minds. It teaches us to work and thrive gracefully without taking pressure because we learn to do our best while leaving the rest up to the universe.
Detachment teaches us to let go of emotions that hold us down and look at the bigger picture. It teaches us to live and love without conditions, to do our best without expecting in return, to let go of the false illusion of having control, and to accept and welcome every situation with confidence & faith in the universe.
When we detach ourselves from the rest of the world, it doesn’t mean that we’re not involved anymore, it just means that we’re always staying open to fresh possibilities & opportunities. Giving without expecting to receive, and becoming the most graceful versions of ourselves.
Read also – 8 Effective Ways to Take a Break and Become More Productive
This is beautifully written. I had no idea that detachment was such an key concept to happiness.