Letting Go

One of my biggest challenges is attachment- being attached too much to the outcome of a situation. It is a hard lesson for me to learn: the tighter I hold onto something, the more I risk missing out on a blessing.

I create little stories in my head of how I would like a certain situation to unfold. Then I do my best to do my part. When the unfolding gets to happening, if I can just let go and enjoy the results, things go well and I am able to be surprised and amazed.

But, when the unfolding begins to go in a direction I had not planned and I either try to control it, or at least I am disappointed, then I usually miss the wonder and the gift because I am still in my head asking, "What happened?"

It is then I need to return to my mantra: "Just let go. You already have all that you need."
I guess I'm still learning.

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People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh

A warrior doesn't know remorse for anything he has done,

because to isolate one's acts as being mean, or ugly, or evil is to place an unwarranted importance on the self.

--Carlos Casteneda

     

He who binds to himself a joy

Does the winged life destroy;

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in Eternity's sunrise.

--William Blake

“As spiritual searchers we need to become freer and freer of the attachment to our own smallness in which we get occupied with me-me-me. Pondering on large ideas or standing in front of things which remind us of a vast scale can free us from acquisitiveness and competitiveness and from our likes and dislikes. If we sit with an increasing stillness of the body, and attune our mind to the sky or to the ocean or to the myriad stars at night, or any other indicators of vastness, the mind gradually stills and the heart is filled with quiet joy. Also recalling our own experiences in which we acted generously or with compassion for the simple delight of it without expectation of any gain can give us more confidence in the existence of a deeper goodness from which we may deviate."

--Ravi Ravindra

“Practice giving things away, not just things you don't care about, but things you do like. Remember, it is not the size of a gift, it is its quality and the amount of mental attachment you overcome that count. So don't bankrupt yourself on a momentary positive impulse, only to regret it later. Give thought to giving. Give small things, carefully, and observe the mental processes going along with the act of releasing the little thing you liked.

--Robert A.F. Thurman