A lesson in Non-Attachment by the sale of a big black truck ~Sarah Frick
Today my black Chevy pick up truck was sold by my darling Husband (truly he was quite sweet about it). You see we are having a baby and I now have a station wagon which I drive my yoga self around in for the most part so the truck is more just an eye soar on our curb and an occasional vehicle to tote my dogs to the beach in. It no longer holds the sole purpose of transporting me from point A to B safely (or if you saw the dents.. semi-safely :) This truck for me holds many memories and a way of life I am no longer really living but having a hard time letting go of. About 4 years I packed up my life and drove it down to Charleston with my little lab friend in the front seat and took up shop in a sweet little rental on Sullivans Island and have not looked back! It was a time to play and be free and have little responsibility. So.. fast forward 4 years.. I am a wife, a soon to be Mother, a business owner, a home owner, ex-party girl, and last but not least a station wagon driver. Last night when I was cleaning out the truck and literally balling my eyes out I had to stop and ask myself.. "what is the attachment to this piece of metal... why am I literally associating my persona to this truck"? In yoga the concept of 'non-attachment' is called Aparigraha. 'Aparigraha is the Sanksrit word for greedlessness or non-grasping.' Why.. when I know nothing material is permanent and we are not our things could I just not let go of the 'idea' of this truck defining me. Why did I feel that I now had to define myself with words like 'wife, mother, business owner, or worst of all responsible adult!' when really all I have to be is "Sarah' and its enough. I spent a long time thinking about how I use material items and labels to define me as a person when they can all be taken away so quickly anyway. At the end of the day its just you and God and not the stuff you bought or the money you made or the image you so delicately try to portray. So the question then became.. is it the truck I am having a hard time letting go of or is the image I have created for myself that only I care about- because the people that really love me don't care what I drive or look like. Of course after much 3am soul searching I came to see that it was the image.. the free spirit, life of the party, pick up truck driving girl that I was mourning when in reality she is still there.. just with a bigger baby belly, a sweet husband, a killer business, and a safer (more suitable) ride! Remember folks.. on this journey.. we are not our things.. we are not our jobs.. our money.. we are our spirits and our kindness and most importantly God's love~ If you see the old beater riding around Charleston... give her a honk ;)
