Detachment in our world today

Detachment in our world today

Ashley D. Mwanza

There can be no personal transformation without detachment. But what does that mean for us today?

Having read on this subject in the book Jesus Today by Albert Nolan. It really got me thinking. Detachment is not a popular word today. It seems to imply aloofness and indifference. When we accuse someone of being detached, we usually mean that person lacks feeling or passion for something or somebody. This is a world normally used to describe our politicians. But that is not what the word means in the many spiritual traditions that make use of it. Detachment properly understood, means freedom, inner freedom.

Although it is not a word that Jesus used, detachment expresses very well an important element in his spirituality: the ability to let go. We can speak of this as “purity of heart” or as the process of becoming “poor in spirit.”

Meister Eckhart, described detachment as been more fundamental than love itself, because without freedom from our attachments we cannot love fully and unconditionally. We are not free to love until we are willing to stop clinging to our possessions of one kind or another. Otherwise, like the rich young man (Mk 10:17-22), our love and our commitment will always be impeded.

Our egos chain us down with a multitude of attachments. Our egos cling desperately to things, people, to times and places, to reputation and image, to professions and ministries, to our ideas and practices, to success and life itself. These are our chains. We need to take a closer look at them.