Thursday, July 31, 2014

Unattached

A couple weekends ago I was visiting my Dad and found myself sitting with him and watching, of all things, a baseball game on TV.  I gave myself permission a long time ago to not put my energy and time into watching and following sports just so I could remember the names of players, statistics, and who-is-in-what-place for conversational purposes (mostly connected to meeting and talking with men).  I just am not that interested and prefer to put my attention elsewhere.

There is nothing wrong with sports and I understand it is a favorite pastime for many people.  Both my grandmothers were baseball fans and rarely missed a Tiger's game on TV.  I, myself, attended many baseball and hockey games just for the fun of it.

Anyway, watching the Tiger's game with Dad, I found I was thoroughly enjoying myself.  I didn't know the players, did notice some new protective gear they were wearing since I stopped paying attention, and did ask Dad a question or two about rules I had forgotten.  Fascinating!

It reminds me of a book I read last year, The Five Levels of Attachment.  In the book, Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. explained the levels using sports as an example.  I could watch the baseball game, be pleasantly entertained, and sigh just a bit when the Tigers lost.  No attachment.

Some people are really into their sports and tend to identify to an extreme with their team of choice.  The very highest level of attachment is evident in their reaction to a team loss with the experience of deep anger, depression, even suicide.  And then there are those levels in-between.

Attachments can be detrimental to your health - body, mind and spirit.  Through personal growth classes, this is something I worked on and continue to look at diligently.  I'm talking about being attached to things, people, and beliefs.  Thinking I couldn't live without something or someone, that I would just die without them or it, was a miserable way to live.  I saw the truth in this and had to let go of attachments - well, maybe not all, I am a work in progress after all.

I do prefer to keep things around that make my life easier.  Makeup mirror, toothbrush, stove and refrigerator, running water...  And I prefer to keep my family and friends close, for as long as possible.  But I am not attached, though this may sound cold and heartless to some. 

How attached are you to your beliefs? Opinions? Points of view?  Ideas?  It's worth a look into identifying the attachments that are limiting and denying you the life you want to create.  Imagine living without the cords that bind, free to fly, open in mind and heart.

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