Attachments

Penelope has cautioned me repeatedly lately about avoiding "attachments".

In our drive to work conversations on Tuesday and again today, we probed the notion more deeply and I now realize I have been thinking about this too narrowly/shallowly.

"Attachments" come in many forms; they include not only the more obvious emotional ties formed in human relationships, but also things like:

  • addictive behaviors
  • repetitive "comforting" (including masturbation)
  • becoming too embedded in/absorbed by mundanity
  • allowing myself to feel overwhelmed by "reality" (the 10,000 things of Buddhism)
  • simple daily habits
  • preferred ways of doing things

Just this morning in fact, I was prevented from parking in a particular space I'm fond of because somebody was pulled in there across several spaces chatting away on their cell phone, totally oblivious to anybody interested in the parking space.

I used it as an opportunity to get over myself and my attachment to that particular parking space.

Penelope has even talked about (threatened ;-)) putting me on a sort of 12 Step Program to assist me with my "addiction" to materialism (more rationalism/reductionism really, I think).

I'm reminded of Don Juan's admonitions about "erasing personal history", which I think is meant to limit one's "footprint" in materiality; avoiding entanglements, allowing one to tread lightly, move nimbly.

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