Inspiration and Attachment

Today I have the honor of being the Featured Luminary on a website that highlights women who are shaping today’s spiritual thinking. It’s a lovely tribute, and they asked me to write an article on my spiritual beliefs, which you may enjoy reading. I’ll give you a link, below.

Of course, it’s very flattering to be recognized as a spiritual influence in the world. That is the path I endeavor to walk, and it’s an important part of my work. The second part of my work happens in my personal life, as a wife, mother, sister and friend. But as is true of everyone walking the planet, I am walking on feet of clay.

So, ironically, today is also a day I am dealing with my own issues of attachment. Attachment is our attempt to hold on to things as we want them to be, to our “pictures” of how life should unfold. We become attached because we want to control the circumstances of our lives, because we feel safer when we imagine are in control.

Alas, as we know in our heart of hearts, we’re never really in control. And attachment is never useful, because it blinds us to reality. Here is the truth: reality, when we stop trying to control it, is even more beautiful than our pictures.

So today I have the opportunity to remind myself again of this truth. I’ve been feeling rejected and hurt by someone in my life. Now let me say, I know this is not about me. In fact, nothing anyone else does is ever about me. How I feel about it is about me, however, and yes, I’ve been in pain.

I am working my way through this. I’ve surrendered to the sadness and shed some tears. I feel how I feel, and that’s real. I honor my feelings. However, some other things are also real. What I’ve done for this person, I chose to do because I wanted the person to have the benefit of my actions. I didn’t do it to gain love or gratitude…

Well, of course, that’s bull fertilizer. So let’s be honest and say, wanting to gain love or gratitude was very much a lesser, semi-unconscious goal on my part. I chose to help this person primarily for their benefit, and I did accomplish that goal. The good I sent out continues to unfold. So today I choose to feel happy about that, and to release my attachment to any particular outcome that involves a certain behavior on the part of the recipient of my actions.

That means I choose to let go of my picture of what this relationship “should” be. I let go of any attempt to control the other person’s behavior. I choose, as a matter of fact, to let go of my hurt, disappointment, sadness and anger, and to feel only joy.

I’m breathing now, and continuing the process. I release all attachment, and in the words of the well known prayer, I let go and let God. I meditate and send this thought to the Higher Self I share with this other person, and with everyone else in humanity, acknowledging my part in everything that unfolds, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”

Here’s that link: http://InspireMeToday.com/author/jilliancolemanwheeler/