ATTACHMENT

These last 2-3 weeks I have been sick.  I am much better now, but still not totally up to optimum, but I am getting there.  Being sick, I have been through a gamut of emotions from pity party to down right mad to finally acceptance.  I am not one that does sickness well.   So when my husband suggested that we downgrade our marathon status to a half marathon, I pouted.  'I had worked too hard', I whined, 'and I wasn't letting a stupid cold stop me from completing this'.  As I sat back and contemplated the 'what if's' of downgrading from marathon to half marathon I realized that I was very attached to the outcome.  Bottom line, I wanted that 26.2 mile bling.  I wanted it bad.  Simple as that. I was attached to a stupid medal.  I  was also attached to the sentimental value this race had for me.  5 years ago it was my first marathon, this year it was going to be my husband's first marathon and I wanted to complete it together.  By the way, Mike is not nearly as attached to this goal as I am.  So back to the 'what if's'...so what if my medal isn't inscribed with 26.2 but 13.1 instead?  What if we cross the half marathon finish line instead of the full?

According to Deepak Chopra there are Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga.  The 6th law is The Law of Detachment.  This law reveals a paradox of life.  In order to acquire something in the world, you have to relinquish your attachment to it.  This doesn't mean to give up the intention to fulfill your desire, you simply give up your attachment to the outcome.
Attachment is based on fear and insecurity - believing that you need something outside yourself in order to be happy. In my case, holding that 26.2 medal gave me visions of happiness. By practicing detachment and embracing uncertainty, you relinquish your need to hold on to the past, which is the only thing that is known.  Being open to what is happening rather than trying to control how things unfold, you experience the excitement, adventure, exhilaration, and mystery of life. Have your intentions clearly in your awareness while you maintain an attitude of Thy will be done.  The coexistence of these apparently contradictory forces -intention and detachment- cultivates the flexibility that enables you to fulfill all your goals in life.  Attachment breeds rigidity. I was certainly rigid in my ideas and how things should unfold. So after studying this concept I realized that if I let go of my attachment I no longer had the pressure of not being fully prepared to complete this marathon.  Most importantly, we had wanted to make a small family vacation in Miami and down grading to a half marathon would certainly give us more time and the time we had would be more enjoyable with my kids.  So I got on the ING Miami marathon website and I sat in front of the button that you push to change your marathon status.  I asked my husband several times, "are you sure?"  He was dead sure. I pushed the button to change our status and unexpectedly a flood of relief came over me.  I felt great about my decision.  I now look forward to this trip and know we will have a more enjoyable time with the family.  From now on, I will make a more conscious effort to identify my attachments to outcome for I now know that it spoils the journey, and the journey  is what it is all about my friends.
May you be blessed.
Namaste'