Attachment to Things - Personal Practice

I've spoken of non-attachment in the past, however, this past week I was reminded how important it is to practice non-attachment and to allow myself to be in the here and now.

I know attachment to "things" does me no good.  But I still found myself attaching.

I actually became physically ill at the thought of letting go of something I had owned for the last thirteen years of my life.  

This "thing" was such a part of my life!  It had comforted me when I was ill or sad.  It held many happy and unhappy memories! 

When I realized it was time to let this "thing" go, I did my best to hold onto it.  

I stressed about making space for this thing, even though there was no space to spare for it.  I even found myself loosing sleep re-evaluating the layout of my home trying to find space. 

Mind you, I didn't want to disrupt the other things.  I like them as they are!  It's my attachment that was driving me to accommodate a "thing" that has no purpose or use for me any longer.

Then I was challenged to let the "thing" go.

I found myself justifying having this "thing", even though I knew my justifications sounded silly.

I was even going to spend more money in order to hold onto this "thing" which served no purpose.

This attachment was strong!

Then I realized it, I was attaching.  I was holding onto my memories so hard that I wasn't allowing myself space to create new memories, I wasn't allowing myself to be in the here and now.

I knew it was time to let this "thing" go. 

I'm not gonna lie, I savored the last moments.  My heart was heavy.  I hugged this "thing" and shed a few tears before it left my life.

Then I let it go.  

I watched this "thing" leave my life for good.

In it's place is a new "thing", which is needed.  

All-in-all, I'm super excited about recognizing my attachment and equally excited to be a step closer in my practice of non-attachment.  

After all it was just a "thing".