Empires rise and fall. Tides shift overnight. Everything is subject to the eternal flux. Clinging to specific outcomes creates suffering because nothing ever stays the same. I’ve started over from scratch so many times that I’ve lost count. Most recently, a hurricane devastated the city I lived in, forcing me to relocate due to a lack of housing, potable water, and work. Even though I’ve let go countless times, I still grieved as my familiar reality dissolved overnight. It’s a story I know all too well.
One thing I’ve discovered on the path of letting go is that when we aren’t mentally attached to any form, plan, or outcome, there’s nothing to let go of in the first place. Nothing in this world truly belongs to us. You can have everything you desire, as long as you recognize, deep within, that none of it is yours. One of my favorite sayings beautifully encapsulates this truth: “Nothing is yours; everything is you.” Letting go in the material sense isn’t enough if it isn’t rooted in genuine detachment.
I think of this as dispassionate detachment. By consciously focusing on the transitory nature of experiences, we naturally cultivate appreciation, which often blossoms into gratitude—and sometimes even great awe. What a grand show to be alive! Being mindfully (or mindlessly) detached brings great joy, a true lightness of being that creates expansion of heart and mind, and allows us to enjoy the ride, regardless of outcomes.
Light as a feather, floating through worlds, attached to nothing, I witness all that I am.
Love, Aleeiah
