On Grief and Attachment

Grief is selfish. It is indulged in for self-gratification, not for love. Cosmic man knows the beauty and unreality of death. Sympathy for the afflicted makes a reality of the affliction by its recognition as an infliction, while sorrow for the loss of anything, or for the 'unfortunate' condition of anybody, is forgetful of the beauty and abundance of all-giving God and Nature. The Mind of God knows but one unchanging emotion - ECSTASY - the ecstasy of Love - the ecstasy which has its beginnings in an inner joyousness of one who is far on the road to the discovery of his immortal Self.

walter russell

We had a death in the family this week. The older I get, the more people seem to pass out of my life. “A lot of good people have done gone on.” If I have gained any wisdom along the way it has been that I have learned not to grieve or mourn the loss of those I have loved. All Things Must Pass, but nothing ever ends. We all just pass into another form and move along. Loved ones are still there, and we can always touch them with our hearts. With the accumulation of years I have become less and less attached to the people and things that surround me. “Ain't none of us gettin' outta here alive, and you can't take it with you.” So what's the big deal about attachment to anything. I'm just passing through.

So the sun shines on this funeral

just the same as on a birth,
the way it shines on everything

that happens here on Earth.

It's enough to be on your way,
it's enough just to cover ground,

it's enough to be moving on.
Home, build it behind your eyes,

carry it in your heart,

safe among your own.

james taylor