Living in balance with stuff is my forte. I am what some might term “obnoxiously selective verging on compulsive” about the items that come into my world (no time for an ugly calculator around here). And so, I love what I own. Each individual thing is my favorite version of that thing. But if they were to disappear tomorrow, I know I would be fine. Things are just things. They come and go. They get damaged and need replacing; it is no travesty.

I relinquish my attachment to material belongings and thus, I enjoy them without worry.

Holding onto things too tightly is the ick-ness that I teach people to unlearn.

When we fixedly attach ourselves to anything–relationships, professional aspirations, identities, and, yes, things–we destine ourselves to feel upset, angry, and anxious. Why? Because we aren’t in control as much as we’d like to believe we are. While we’re taking vows, signing contracts, pressing “purchase,” inventing identities–always with an adorably naive sense of certainty!–life is laughing at our plans.

We can’t know what will come to fruition, what curveballs will be thrown that we didn’t anticipate, and what miracles will arrive in unexpected forms.

Stringent attachments are delusions. They are our attempts at control masquerading as conviction.

We aren’t meant to become fixed, hardened, or stagnant.

Life insists that we adjust and adapt. Over and over and over again.

Our attachments are our weaknesses.

As is always the case, striking the balance is key. We must be confident enough in our free will to stake our claims and heed our desires. We must be humble enough to understand the limits of our control. And we must be gracious enough to see that what is best for us is perpetually seeking us, while what is stagnant is peeling away.

I want it. I am worthy of having it. Who I am is not dependent on it. I am whole without it.

Relinquish attachment to live peacefully.