Math has never been my thing. My first C on a report card was in pre-algebra and I think it went downhill from there. My brain was made for other things. (thats what I tell myself)
But sometimes you’ve got to look at the math. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers:The Story of Success, says that the key to success in any field requires practicing it for ten thousand hours. That’s a lot of hours. I had to use my calculator to figure this out but it was worth it.
If detachment takes practice (and oh, boy does it) and to be successful at something takes ten thousand hours and there are 24 hours in a day, then it takes 416 days to get good at detachment! (story problem at it’s best)
There are a few problems with this calculation though. Firstly, we aren’t awake for 24 hours a day. Then, even though we are awake we aren’t practicing detachment every waking hour. So what occurred to me this morning is that it’s going to take YEARS of practice to get this thing down. And when I say this thing, I mean detachment:
- is watching our loved ones move through their experiences, and praying for them while letting go of outcomes.
- from others is necessary to fully enjoy attachment to God.
- is no longer dancing around someone else’s life.
- is giving up control, even the thought of it.
and SO. MUCH. MORE!
Although I don’t like math, I have to say that I felt better after realizing that the practice of tender, loving, abundant detachment is going to take me YEARS to get good at. Ten thousand hours of detachment is a lot of detachment. I would think by that time, I’ll at least be able to recognize it and step away!
The part of the journey that I’m the most excited about is that while I am practicing this loving detachment, I am seeking to understand my need for attachment in the first place. Along with practicing letting go, I’m going back and healing the wounds that got me here in the first place. It’s a beautiful thing. And that is what is SO amazing about detachment. Because without it, we continue to look for the speck in everyone else’s eye without dealing with the log in our own.
Here’s to ten thousand hours of practicing detachment and the freedom and healing it will bring. I guess I’m not so bad a math after all!
Practicing with you, Letha
