Many strings attached…

The best things in life come free! Expensive, cheaper or free, as long as things are there, we wouldn’t ask for more. Humans are called social animals. Moreover, most of us go a step ahead and get attached to things. Things may come to such a pass that we become a clinging vine, not only to people but also to objects. Why point fingers at others when my own example perfectly puts across the point? The other day, I misplaced my keys. In spite of knowing that producing duplicate keys isn’t impossible, I longed for the original keyset just because I was used to it…
And it got me thinking. Maybe, I was one among those living with things. Though looks small, according to me, it was an alarming enough to take a message from. Thankfully, I am taking corrective measures not to reduce myself to a clinging vine and it’s going to be a lifelong effort. Everyone has a favourite chair at a dining table, or a favourite pen, something we cannot do without. A housewife typically has a piece of jewellry or even a small vessel or spoon accompanied her for decades. There have been articles used for generations. 
Getting attached to things is natural. Benign, it looks apparently. Though there is nothing wrong, deep down it means a lot. My two-year-old daughter is fond of a blanket. She wouldn’t sleep without it. When I started to do away with the habit, many felt it was uncalled for effort. “It’s a piece of cloth. What’s harm if she wants it?” they reciprocated. To me, it wasn’t just a piece of cloth but a whole attachment, clinging and more importantly, her dependency came in its trail. With growing age, she would naturally grow beyond a piece of cloth but the attachment that followed may remain as juvenile.
A child embraces a toy considering it to be the beginning and end of the world. In adulthood or old-age, a toy maybe replaced by something else but the clinging remains as immature.   
Moving beyond things, many cherish the treasure of magical memoirs. To give a sugarcoated name, it’s called attachment.   Attachment is one of the most misinterpreted words. It has many subtle shades. Love and attachment are two different feelings. Love is something that sets us free while attachment binds. What we call memories, treasure or cherishment can become bondage if we overburden mind with them.
Of course, it doesn’t mean taking to another extreme and becoming totally indifferent. No strings attached can be positive only when it comes out of deep understanding. One can be happy in a company of things or people but not dependent.
Growing merely in age doesn’t mean growing beyond attachment. Maybe, in spite of being alive for so many years, we may not have ever lived as this life constitutes past and future. Attachment can be transcended when passing moment becomes a thing of the past. After all, there is no time like present…

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