Non-Attachment (Who’s the Champ?)

The importance of non-attachment is at its highest when it comes to “letting go” of what we love. I have seen so many people (me included) holding on to things, as well as people, with their dear lives. Often, with this behavior, we have a hard time accepting change, and we fear change even more than death. But what we usually fail to accept and see is that, without change, we do not live, because all people must change to allow ourselves and others the freedom to grow.

My dog, Luke, is sixteen years old, and most people are shocked to learn this because they believe he is only sixteen months old. Sure, one can have this opinion based on his appearance, but most draw this conclusion from his spirit. When asked for his secret, I usually respond by saying, “He has regular habits, feels his freedom every day, and most importantly, receives plenty of love.” As I share Luke’s “non-aging secrets,” I realize that his needs are no different than ours as humans. Even though we do not regularly receive bowls of kibble or freely chase squirrels each morning, the very least we can do is to have regular habits when we chase dreams and give and receive love regularly.

Feeling freedom is not only a key to living a happy and healthy life but also to having a loving relationship of any kind. Yet, if we continue to fight with “letting go,” then we keep picking a fight with freedom.

If we look at history, what have all fights against freedom really taught us? If we research deeply enough, we might find freedom to be undefeated. Over centuries, years, months, and even minutes, freedom may have lost some battles, but freedom has won the wars. One might question my conclusion about freedom. I look at the wars of slavery, the Holocaust, and so on, and yes, a lot of lives and battles have been lost, but I feel freedom won those wars in the end. Someone might ask me, “Hey Paul, what about Palestine and all the wars that are going on right now?” Yes, people will continue to lose their lives, and battles will still be lost, but in time, freedom will win. It may take a second or a century, but in all corners of the world, we will have the undisputed world champion — freedom (“ding ding”).

With this conclusion, I wonder if there is any reason to become attached to anything because, as long as we are willing to let go of what we are attached to, we can increase our chances of feeling free. This does not mean abandoning what we love. More importantly, it means allowing it to feel free, starting with ourselves. Then we will possess the ammunition loaded in the weapon that is used when freedom won all its wars. And what do you think that is? There is only one thing in the palm of freedom’s fist that makes it the world champion, and that is love.

Historically, freedom’s army has had many great warriors and soldiers, each of whom were so unattached to themselves that they gave up their bodies and minds. They sacrificed themselves so others could feel free and keep the one thing alive that they did not give up — their spirit and love for others.

We could not live for what we believe in today if those did not die for what they believed for our tomorrow.