Attachment is the root of suffering

Since we were born,
We have been attached with everything that we bring.
We may have the colors of our skin.
We may bring our looks.
We may be gifted our talents.
And many things.

Sometimes these labels make us so proud,
That “we are rich”
That “we are good looking”
That “we are the best”

Then we grow older.
Our attachment increases,
Not only with the things that we brought,
But also with the new things that we achieved

We may have several new titles,
That “we graduated from a reputable university”
That “we married with an important person”
That “we manage a big corporation”

But, who are we without those attributes?
Can we still alive without all of those things?
Our achievement, our appearance, our belongings, our titles, our ideologies,

Attachment is the root of suffering.
Sometimes we forget that those things are only our clothes.
The clothes that we could not bring when we pass away.

Sometimes we attach so close.
Then we forget that those are only our tools,
Which help us to play our role in this world.

Therefore, appreciation should be given to those things.
But we should remain independent of them

Because those will not change our true existence,
That we are the free soul.
Who are supposed to be happy and peace,
Without all of those things

When detachment emerges.
We will have no fear anymore,
Cause no one can take the freedom that we have.
For standing in the meaning of true happiness.

Written by : Ati Paramita
Photo : The attachment of mushroom and loranthus to a tree by Ati Paramita