Non-Attachment
“You cannot climb a ladder if you do not let go of the rung
you are holding onto.”
- David Walsh
This past week I began a journey with a small group of people interested in exploring the Karmas of the Enneagram. The first karma to be worked with is the karma of Non-Attachment. In the simplest of explanations, the work in this karma is to “let go!”
We all attach in some way. We attach to thoughts, emotions, timeframes, stories, sensations, hurts, judgements, fears, etc. And we do this for all kinds of reasons. Our enneagram number may help us see our special flavour of attaching. Being aware of when we attach is one thing, but the ability to actually let things go is our true work.
The universe is ordered and always in movement. Its rhythm provides a sense of stability. As our planet circles the sun, our days start and end, our seasons come and go and we live and die. There is a cycle and season for everything. We are made of cosmic dust, so we too are engrained with the rhythm of rising and falling--the living and the dying. Our hearts pump our blood and our lungs breathe in and out. This is all in the rhythm of everything.
We are human beings with the ability to choose when to close our hands around something gently and when to open our hands to let things go, thereby allowing the receiving of something new. If things are held too tightly they can die or turn to stones. We may not feel life’s pain through this tight holding, but we surely will not experience growth.
We are all called to grow and foster life. Can we be aware of how the letting go feels uneasy and scary, but these emotions are necessary for us to touch a whole new part of life that we never expected.
To continue to climb the ladder towards our higher selves, we must be able to let go of things and open our hands to receive the next thing. We do not know what it may bring, or how we may feel, but how else will we allow life in and, in so doing, fulfill our destiny.
Dale Bially
Inscapes Centre for Enneagram Studies