Detachment and Devotion

Book Club met last week to discuss tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.  It was a very easy read with several great life lessons.  Since we met, one topic has stayed on my brain - the idea of detachment.  And it came up in two different forms.  


One way to detach yourself is once something happens and is over you completely detach yourself.  You don't hang on to all the words said or not said.  You don't relive the moments over and over in your head.  You were there, it happened, it was said and now you detach yourself and move forward.  You take that piece of your life with you, but it just becomes a part of your past.


The second idea of detachment we discussed had to do with living in the moment, detaching yourself from all the noises and distractions around you and only focusing on where you are in the moment, who you are talking to in that moment, and what you are doing in that single moment.  


There are so many things in our society that jockey for our attention - TV, books, magazines, phones, blackberries, the Internet, sports, school, work, kids, family - and on and on.  It is so easy to be distracted, but almost hard to focus.  And with all the choices, decisions, opportunities out there its no wonder that we can't focus.


So, how do we go about detaching ourselves?  And how do we decide what to detach ourselves from?  Morrie put it very simply when he discussed getting meaning in your life.


"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." (p.43)


I guess one way to look at detachment is through the avenue of devotion.  Some things in my life could probably use less of my attention while others could definitely use more of it.  By detaching myself from certain things I will have more time, energy, and a greater ability to focus and in turn the ability to devote my mind, heart and soul to the things in my life that truly matter.


I hope this idea of detachment and devotion continues to stir in my soul because I like the direction it is taking me.