Detachment

In my own life this sort of detachment has touched me in simple practical ways.

My mother once commented on how much she liked a tablecloth in a friend’s home. The friend whipped it off the table and gave it to her on the spot. This experience has worked its way into my own life. From time to time I give away what is admired in my home just as a reminder of what sort of things really matter. Furthermore, I see parting with a few beautiful things as a small discipline considering all the “letting go” I have yet to face.

Over Christmas when thousands of folks were snowed in at O’Hare airport, a friend called to tell me her son’s flight had been canceled for twenty-four hours and that there was not a rental car to be found. Detachment in this instance meant letting go of our car for four days so a stranded traveler could drive the 150 miles to his home.

Moving to Chicago was also a deep lesson in detachment. Leaving the sea, the friends, the job, the church, the roots to follow Jesus to a new land came with losses and eventually a renewed sense of where my attachment lies.

Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

“St. Ignatius of Loyola notes that sin is unwillingness to trust that what God wants is our deepest happiness. Until I am absolutely convinced of this I will do everything I can to keep my hands on the controls of my life, because I think I know better than God what I need for my fulfillment.” —David Benner