I’ve been working on detachment this year. Detachment gets a bad name. It doesn’t mean disconnecting from people and it doesn’t mean not caring. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Detachment has proven to be the greatest act of love that I’ve ever practiced. (and practice is the key word)

You see detachment means relinquishing the role of playing God in someone else’s life. It’s letting others have their own opinions. Detachment is giving up outcomes and not being dependent on others for our good feelings.

It’s understanding that no one is our project and it’s God’s work to orchestrate the lives of others…not mine. And when I interrupt that, it prevents others from realizing the growth that they have to achieve.

Detachment is loving people right where they are and being free knowing that the only person I can control or fix or change is me!

Detachment has changed my relationships. I’m counting on it changing my Christmas too.

I think we all have expectations about Christmas. Some of us want to reclaim years past, others of us want things to stay like they’ve always been.  We watch Hallmark movies, see Norman Rockwell photos, and look at social media and want our holiday season to be just like that. What if we detached from outcomes and expectations and just loved the people and the moments we’re given?

What if we released our grip on how we wish it would be and just rested in how it was? What if we loved our friends and families with all their flaws and woundeness and refuse to let our interactions with others define us?

Detachment is an expression of unconditional love. We all crave it and we all deserve it. What a better time to practice it, but at Christmas. Detachment, when fully expressed, promises peacefulness. So at Christmas time when we sing of peace on earth, try letting go. Peace on earth will start with inner peace, and with some practice I promise you’ll find more of it.

With love, Letha