DETATCHMENT XI

You like to look at red leaves in the fall, this is good; it increases your awareness and perhaps is even the beginning of the realization that the red leaves and you are one. But if you must see the red leaves- if you push something aside in order to see the leaves- if you can think of nothing but the leaves-if you look at a person and think, "here is a person who can drive me into the countryside to see more red leaves" then you are being possessed by your desire for red leaves. You are afraid you will miss something. You do not have that something you want. You are grasping. If you are to find your true nature and to follow the spiritual path, you must learn to detach.

In the beginning the process of detachment seems cold. When a person sits down in meditation or prays by resting in the Spirit she empties herself of everything. How lonely that sounds. But being alone is not necessarily lonely. To detach from your preoccupations is to have faith in the life process and to know that you are a part of it. Through detachment you do not forsake people and your environment. Detachment is a means of connecting with them at a deeper level. For it is not people or things that distract you, but your desires. It is from these desires that you must learn to detach.

Desires are like demons. There are many demons, each with its own name and characteristics. Some are called respectability, security, superiority, control, recognition, stubbornness, all creatures from the heel of self centeredness. These are the demons that separate you from other people and life. Suppose you look at a person and you feel competitive. Then you are not in contact with that person. If you can learn to detach from your competitive desires, then you can begin to touch that person. If you see antoher person simply as an audience for your words and actions, you are trying to relate to that person on the level of the demons. You do not see the person at all, but simply yourself. If you detach from self, you are free to see the other person and perhaps even to love that person.

Detachment begins by entering into the silence of your own inner being. These demons exist on the periphery of your inner world. Yet you seldom go past them to experience what lies at the center. Do not let the demons possess you. Push past them. Do not try to conquer them. Just detach from them. Move on. The greatest possible distraction is trying to push other distractions away. Let your thoughts and feelings dance and yell. Just move on. Sometimes you act as if you are your troubles. You are not your troubles. They are a pert of you but not all of you. Move through them.

Do not mistakes of cursing the demons or your troubles. They are valuable to you. Solving problems is not really important. Finding your true nature is of great importance. Unless you become who you are, you will wander through life on a barren and dusty road. Demons and troubles create a darkness. In this darkness you can find your inner light. You would not be able to find the flame of a candle on a desert at high noon. You can see the candle flame easily at midnight.**

So do not despise the dog that barks during your meditation. If a thoughtless person has upset you, do not blame him for your agitation at times of prayer. Remember it is you who chooses to struggle with demons rather than continuing on your way. Look for your light. Nothing else matters.