Nonattachment is a Gift
Our focus this week — Nov 12-Nov 18: “Generosity”
Today’s MotD: Nonattachment is a Gift. As we close out this week of exploring generosity, we’ll look at the ultimate “state of being” that allows us to be generous without any of the ego-centric emotions that may hold us back from being generous: nonattachment.
In the words of Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, “Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path.” Yet, many of us are guilty of this — we hold tight to people, outcomes, and even identities that no longer serve us. When we fail to acknowledge impermanence, we set ourselves up for ongoing disappointment. — Gustavo Richard’s article Why holding on makes us suffer here’s the cure
The more we cling to things, the more suffering we invite into our lives. The more we fear losing something (thing, person, belief, identity, comfort, routine, etc), the more we cling to it. The more we fear lack, the harder we cling to everything. How can we be generous when clinging so tightly ?
Our challenge becomes understanding the impermanence of things, including ourselves and our loved ones. This is not about “not caring” about any of these things, it’s about being in gratitude while they are with us while also acknowledging their impermanency.
Understanding [impermanence] can be liberating. When we truly grasp that nothing lasts forever, we stop holding on so tightly. We stop fearing change because we recognize it as the natural order of life. Instead of resisting impermanence, we learn to flow with it, accepting that life’s ebb and flow is out of our control. As philosopher Alan Watts famously said, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” — Gustavo Richard’s article Why holding on makes us suffer here’s the cure
From this place of impermanence, we open our hearts to generosity. Giving becomes easier because we’re not longer attached to whatever it is we’re giving. Instead, we experience the joy that can only be had via generosity.
How about you ? What’s your take on attachments (not the email kind) ? Have you noticed that the more attached you are to something, the more challenging it is to give it away ? Would knowing that everything is temporary, would that make it easier for you to be more generous ?
BTW…Here’s the before…the front and back view of today’s puzzle piece and the pretty ceramic box that holds all my numbers from which I randomly choose each day’s puzzle piece number:
Peace & Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
🔆 transforming soul whispers into mandalas and channeled messages
ABOUT THE 2025 Mandalas of the Day
Throughout the year, I’ll be building one large (48”x48”) Tibetan-styled Mandala one piece at a time…one puzzle piece at a time, that is. The mandala design and the reversed puzzle side were printed on artist-quality watercolor paper. The forward facing puzzle side was printed on a 48”x48” wood panel.
Each day, at random, I’ll be painting in watercolors one of the 365 watercolor puzzle pieces, that by the end of the year will become Archangel Mandala #4. Read more about the Archangel Series. The word/message for each piece will be inspired by Melody Beattie’s book “52 Weeks of Conscious Contact”.
Ultimately, the message of this mandala is about how we are all uniquely part of the one.
Mandala of the Day 