it's not much of a tail...

So, my hometown is on fire right now. We don't still live there, but we are lucky enough to keep a small place to head back to in the summer and, now and again, during ski season. As things progressively get worse... we watch from afar. We pray for the firefighters and the residents and the animals.

Yesterday, in a moment of reflection, we ran through a quick inventory of what was in our small place, what objects would be lost if the fire takes over... nothing much... some art and sports equipment. Nothing that can't, really, be replaced. Yes, that was my 'favorite' ski jacket. Yes, there is that oil painting of your great-grandmother... but... so comes the lesson in non-attachment.

The grown-up, always on the search for enlightenment, responsible me reflects on Pema Chödrön:

“We are like children building a sand castle. We embellish it with beautiful shells, bits of driftwood, and pieces of colored glass. The castle is ours, off limits to others. We’re willing to attack if others threaten to hurt it. Yet despite all our attachment, we know that the tide will inevitably come in and sweep the sand castle away. The trick is to enjoy it fully but without clinging, and when the time comes, let it dissolve back into the sea.”  (When Things Fall Apart)

But, the me, who I really am... the me who struggles with attachment, finds solace in A.A. Milne's Eeyore:

“It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it.”