Detached love is a concept often described yet difficult to fully comprehend and possibly even more challenging to employ.
To understand detached love is to understand what it isn’t. Detached love isn’t aloof, nor is it clinging, controlling, or filled with expectations. Detached love is the free flow of loving energy that does not burden its receiver with unconscious demands to fill an empty space, to provide security, or to give steady streams of attention that builds the ego.
Consider this simple test: imagine giving a gift to someone and having them immediately discard it or give it away. How would you feel? Is there an attachment to the outcome of their actions? If so, then the gift is not free for it is given with unspoken expectations. Loving someone with detachment is to detach from their behavior. It is giving the gift of love freely. If you find you cannot detach from the other person’s behavior in response to your love, then it may not be a genuine flow of love and may have unconscious expectations to meet egoic needs that cannot be filled.
Inspiration for the Day: “Your heart must become a sea of love. Your mind must become a river of detachment.” -Sri Chinmoy
Note: This is an ongoing series to help provide support during these challenging times. These daily readings are part of an overall book on balance, which includes 12 essentials for maintaining balance to support resilience and your best self. The 12 essentials include mind, body, love, service, self, family, intimacy, purpose, environment/living space, nature, social relations, and spirit. This series is sharing 30 days of lessons about love. It will examine multiple aspects of love and provide knowledge and inspiration for hearts to heal and love to flow. It is designed as a daily reader to allow time to reflect, process and incorporate.
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