Attachment

Today is the last new moon of the Chinese lunar year. So as usual I went to the temple for the usual new moon service and there were a Bhante (monk) and Bhikku (nun) leading the prayers. After the prayers, the Bhante told us a story about attachment. About how this wife was given a pretty diamond necklace by her husband. And she fell in love with it so much she couldn't sleep, and that the next day when she was wearing it to go out, the necklace was the only thing she can think about.

And she ended up getting robbed.

The moral of the story is not to attach us to anything, especially materialistic things that this world will never run out of. I've learned from Buddhism that attachment is really the root to our sufferings. So I've learned not to attach myself to anything. Though I'm so far from being successful. I have learned though, to let go of things that are beyond my control. I have learned to worry less, although the paranoid me still looms towards the worrying side. But I'm coping well I suppose.

I do still have a question though, about attachment. If attachment is the root to our sufferings, does it mean that we cannot attach ourselves  to our dreams and goals? Well maybe we shouldn't solely attach ourselves to our dreams. So much so that our dreams are the only things that we think of. It's kind of painful to realise that you've been attaching yourself to your dreams, only to realise, or feel, that you are nowhere near them. Sometimes I blame myself, for not working hard enough to achieve them. But in my case, it is the things that happened around me that sort of make it difficult to achieve them. Like I once said the thing that lie between me and my dreams is my heart. 

So well, I learned to let go of things that are beyond my control. I may not achieve my dreams now, but I know I still have to live my life to the fullest. I have to do things that I love. I need to keep that fire of passion burning inside me. Because to me life without passion is pretty meaningless.

So yep, don't attach yourself to things so hard. You will leave this life of yours so... Attach yourself to the correct things. And don't attach too hardly to these things.