Sail freely in this big, beautiful, bountiful Universe

Last evening I was at a doctor’s clinic. The doctor, a wonderful lady, was seeing off her friend – who ostensibly also appeared to be her patient – at the door while I waited for my turn to be called in. As the two ladies stood at the clinic’s entrance, the doctor told her friend/patient: “There’s nothing wrong with you. Cheer up! It’s all in your mind! Just learn to be detached. Life is too short. Learn to let go and try not to control anyone or anything in Life! Don’t expect your Life to be perfect either. It never will be. Just live the Life that you have, stay prepared to depart when your turn comes and you will just be fine!”

I am not aware of what the patient’s actual complaint or condition is. But I found the doctor’s perspective truly awakening!

Almost all the time, our suffering comes from our attachments – to people, things, opinions, habits, events and such!  Think about it. Every attachment fuels a desire to control. To possess. To own. Unknown to us, we end up being possessed by it! There are people who are worried about their status and prestige in society. To them, being humble, being ordinary, being vulnerable is suffering because they are constantly worried about what others will think about them. They no longer earn their status, they are controlled by having to keep it! Some are attached to their property, their car, their phones, their desks, their cameras and sometimes, to their opinions. Even attachment to an idea can cause suffering. For instance, some have an idea that they will be happy subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. So, if those conditions are not met, they will be unhappy. This applies to habits too. Are you owning a packet of cigarettes or is it owning you__when you are in a no-smoking area and your mind is on the packet with you and on your craving to smoke, it is controlling your every thought, isn't it?

 

There's a poem that describes The Buddha thus: "The Buddha is like a full moon sailing across an empty sky." Meaning that The Buddha's happiness was immense because he possessed nothing. When our mental landscapes are full of things that we possess__ideas, material objects, opinions, habits, worries__we are no longer in charge of our lives. When we let go of every single thing we possess__physically, literally, figuratively and metaphorically__we will be bliss. This does not mean abdication. This means remaining detached so that we too can sail freely in this big, beautiful, bountiful Universe.