Recently, “my” bicycle was stolen while locked in the garage.
In theory the lessons of attachment and giving are easy…but when faced with a pricey loss, we are tested. (After all, talk is cheap!)
So, when faced with this situation, my immediate feeling was being BUMMED! The bike was a gift from my sister and I was looking forward to taking a long ride that morning… and now I had to process the loss and determine what to do next.
But as I considered more, I realized that we are faced with different types of loss all of the time…people, things, moments that we can never truly get back. Our attachment to those things can keep us from moving forward.
The feeling that certain things/people/etc. “belong” to us is a poisonous thought. It is an illusion based on our inability to truly see the oneness of everything. When we create these divisions and boundaries, we convince ourselves that they are true…but really, if we take life down to the molecular level, everyone and everything is just floating in space. Ironically, we were given skin and the ability to create boundaries…like walls, countries, and pieces of paper to “prove” ownership…to make us believe those divisions are true. But they are not.
One of the visions that came to me during a lovely post-‘theft’ walk with a friend (<3, C!) was the image below from one of my favorite books on Taoism, “Do Nothing & Do Everything. An Illustrated New Taoism” by Qiguang Zhao:
In this image, we are reminded of the concept that there is really no such thing as “lost” or “found”…’it’ is just all in the space of the universe. There may be an exchange, but never a true loss.
So with all of those deep thoughts in mind, I decided that my time with that bicycle was done and it was time for a new journey! I was so fortunate to be in a position to replace the bike and decided to upgrade (the bike and the lock!! there is wisdom in trusting God but locking your front door :) ) and purchase a shiny new helmet to boot! (reading My Stroke of Insight has made me focus more on protecting my brain!)
Though initially bummed by the situation, it is just one day later and I already feel that the opportunity was a blessing that has now opened me up to new possibilities :)
As an added bonus, during my walk after “the incident”, my friend and I found this beautiful fairy garden with a perfect message sent to us straight from the Universe, “It’s not what you look at. It’s what you see.” Beyond beautiful.
Photo source: let it go :)