Unhealthy attachments = obstacles. That's all it is. Think about it.
When you have an healthy attachment to something, it becomes an obstacle. Whether it's a person, a place, a memory you dwell on from the past, your precious designer bag, your Grizzly straight tobacco addiction, your 64' Impala, your old boxes of mementos consuming the first, second and half of the third stall of your garage ... whatever it is that you can't let go of is what keeps you from positive progression.
This past weekend I went to church with my mom and they spoke about unhealthy attachments and how they become obstacles. They referenced a bumper sticker that said, "Is there eternal life? Touch my truck and find out." (or something to that nature) ... and so that led into the assumption that people hold their possessions or unhealthy attachments to a high level of importance ... making those things obstacles to having a relationship with God.
For those who don't attend church regularly, or maybe, aren't religious, you may be thinking--great, another church lady-Jesus-freak forcing religion on others. I am far from that ... I sin every day ... but if you're offended or annoyed, interpret the message as I did: unhealthy attachments become obstacles to having faith in knowing things will work out for the better and having faith keeps you at peace and being at peace leads to happiness.
Think about your unhealthy attachment ... whatever it is ... and now understand all the positive it keeps you from. Let's use the vehicle as an example ...
Imagine you have this attachment to your Mack-daddy truck ... no one can ride in it unless their shoes have been cleaned, they're wearing soft pants so they don't scratch the leather and they promise not to eat or drink in the ride. OK. Understandable. But then let's say you're hyped up riding round' town, jamming to whatever you listen to, taking Snapchat videos showcasing your addiction to this hunk of metal and all of a sudden, you get into a car accident and your precious truck, something that is depreciating by the minutes might I add, is now just a piece of junk that needs repaired. You flip out on all parties involved in the accident, get cited by the police officer who came to the scene, argue with the collision center manager who has agreed to work on your car, complain about this massive bill that your insurance won't cover and it all stemmed from this level of infatuation with a status symbol that you can't take with you.
Let's do this ... say you have an unhealthy attachment to a boyfriend or girlfriend ... to the point where he or she can't speak to a being of the opposite sex because of your other unhealthy attachment to your insecurities. You have to be with your partner at all times and not because you enjoy the company and laugh and build together, but because you don't trust em' and think if there is a minute of time away from him or her where you aren't in control, something bad will happen. I'm quite confident the only thing bad that's happening is your inability to pin-point the real problem and pretty sure that this sort of addiction will eventually drive your partner away indefinitely ... so when that time comes, what will you do? What happens when they don't want to be with you anymore, mostly because of your unhealthy attachment to them? I'll tell you, because I was once that person ... You will fall flat. You will have no friends. You will be lonely, unhappy and miserable and you will spend several years trying to find yourself ... all over again ... or maybe, for the first time, which will take even longer.
When you let go of your unhealthy addictions and eliminate the nervousness and need for something or someone, you can become grateful for what you already have. Start living with the intention to do good, feel good, and only expose yourself to situations, people, thoughts and places that do the same--make you feel good--and that's when you will start to see your world change.
The message this weekend also referenced the 10 commandments as a guide to building a better relationship with God and to finding Him. Well, how about using the 10 commandments to build a better version of yourself and when you do that, when you become the best version of YOU that you could be, you'll find yourself stronger, wiser and happier than ever and believe it or not, will become LESS self-centered.
That is our problem in life ... we're self-centered. We take little consideration for others' needs, wants, desires, battles, addictions, problems ... we just worry about ourselves and what we want, and what we need and at what rate we want and need it. And sometimes, that's a great thing to do ... focus on yourself. But, what about the other person in the car accident? What about your boyfriend or girlfriend? Don't they both deserve the same level of importance for their needs and their wants?
Life happens when you start living with intention to add meaning to YOUR life and to the lives of others. Don't ever let anyone come to you without leaving happier than they were when they arrived. Make everyone you meet remember the good things about you.
What's the saying ... live in a way that if others were to talk bad about you, no one would believe it. I think that's what really helps in making the ride worthwhile ... creating legacy, and having substance and really just being a free-spirited, happy-go-lucky, wise, helpful, heartfelt, giving individual.
Sure, you can be negative and hold on to things that weigh you down, like bad relationships, old flings, drama-filled cattiness from the past, broken dreams, bad memories, status symbols, blah blah blah ... the list of negativies could go on and on. But why torture yourself? Why not make light of some situations that need just that ... to be lightened up.
Start waking up with positive vibes instilled in your bones. Think of something every day that reminds you how blessed you are. Be grateful. Be humble. Seek knowing good people and building relationships with those people. Life is too short to hold onto unhealthy attachments. Learn to let it go. Make the bad situations better. Use car accidents as reminders of how precious life is ... use unplanned scenarios as indicators that you need to stop and smell the flowers once in a while ... use relationships as tests to your strength, patience and humility. See the good in all situations.
When you finally overcome whatever attachment you have ... to a person, a place, an idea, bad food, bad habits, whatever ... you will feel the difference in your quality of life. You will understand faith and will be happy and everyone around you will feel it, too.
