Detachment?

Jekyll Island - FD Thornton

Against my better judgement and most of my writers good sense; I filed away in my junk drawer, two stories I’ve been working on. But they served their purpose helping me sort out my depressive feelings of the last several weeks. So now I’m feeling much better having slept well last night. I dreamed of the past put into the present tense, causing me to wake up a little early. But I felt refreshed all the same.

Over 25 years ago I was diagnosed with depression, GAD, and PD, all stemming from past trauma. In my search to relieve the pain, I discovered the calming effect of meditation, compassionate listening, self-forgiveness, and quiet detachment. Without getting too deep into the weeds, I basically practice my own form of Zen Buddhism. But the only part I still struggle with is quiet detachment—does it mean stepping back from the things you love? Or is it something different? Through my research, I’m beginning to understand that quiet detachment has nothing to do with coldness or indifference. But with the freedom of letting things flow as they will.

Being a caregiver, it has taken me a long time to understand those terms without scrambling my brain. But as it is with most practices of faith. It takes time to understand the truth. So I’m learning not to depend on expectations. But instead to depend on my faith that everything has it’s own path. That good brings good, and that worry, and fear only bring pain and suffering. So I do what I do out of love and not fear. But often that’s just what I do… work out of fear. In those situations all I usually end up with is more pain, fatigue, and depression. All I’m saying is this: learn to forgive yourself. Lord knows, none of us are perfect. But through quiet detachment, we are putting away the ego and allowing our good intentions to flow.