how to detach and let go

I almost cried.

My box, full of assignment and cyclostyled (imagine how ancient it was) research papers, from my institute days,
was being thrown out.

It was like a part of me was going away

I felt I lost something very valuable that day.

I was in grief

Over the next few days, I actually felt much lighter.
Space which it occupied was free.
I could walk in that space without tumbling over the boxes.

How attached are we to our possessions?
A lot

We invest our identity into it, our memories into it,
our deepest emotions into it

All material things will decay and perish

And when we attach ourselves to perishable things,
we are riding the roller coaster of emotions with more downs than up

We value something which we “own” far more
than they are actually worth

Next time, you are staring at your wardrobe
wondering when will you wear (if ever) that jeans

ask yourself
“Will I buy this today and how much would I be willing to pay for it?”

When we have to let go of project or investment,
ask yourself
“If this opportunity was new,
would I go for it and how effort/money would I be willing to put in?”

Often the answer is not much

Yoga calls this Aparigraha meaning non-possessiveness

share with me

What object
Memory
Person
Situation

will you stop becoming possessive today?
What are you willing to let go today?

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