NON-ATTACHMENT

“You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only.
You have no right to the fruits of work.
Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working.
Never give way to laziness, either.
Perform every action with your heart fixed on the Supreme Lord.
Renounce attachment to the fruits.
Be even tempered in success and failure;
for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga.
Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety,
in the calm of self-surrender.
Seek refuge in the knowledge of Brahman.
They who work selfishly for results are miserable.”

— Bhagavadgita Mahabharata (from www.goodreads.com )

The words above touched me deeply and are a great reminder of how important non-attachment is in life.  Non-attachment to the fruits of your labor, or really anything for that matter, is often easier said than done, especially when what you are working on is something you care very much about.  This moves us a step beyond faith (that things will work out) and surrender (that a higher power knows best) to devotion (whether it be to God, to the work itself, to helping another or any other cause outside yourself).  Non-attachment means acting selflessly and out of pure love and joy, much like a parent who cares for their child out of pure love while expecting nothing in return.  The paradox of this is that the work we perform from a state of pure joy, love and non-attachment is often the work that ends up bringing us the greatest rewards in the end. 

Melissa Marcy
Virtuality Studio Reiki and Meditation

Disclaimer: this article is intended for inspirational purposes only and the techniques and ideas described herein are not to be used as a substitute for professional medical or psychological treatment or without prior consultation with, approval of, and under the supervision of your physician or therapist. Application of the information, techniques and ideas in this article is at the sole risk and discretion of the reader.

Tags: letting go, non-attachment, surrender