Question: “I have read that in order to be truly connected to self or universe, is to let go of attachment. how does one do this when you’re married and have children? I feel like trying to let go of that attachment would be a betrayal to my husband and kids.”
Detachment does not mean getting rid of everything and everyone in your life and walking around the world completely naked. Non-attachment in its simplest form means to not hold onto things as if they were permanent.
Thinking that our lives and the lives of our loved ones, and all the things we own and hold dear will last forever is attachment. Understanding and accepting that our lives and the lives of our loved ones and all the things we own and hold dear are impermanent and will one day end is non-attachment.
It’s difficult to think of our family dying. It’s one of the worse feelings in the world. But it is something every single one of us goes through. Attachment would be crying, yelling and cursing away at god or whoever asking why they had to die and bring them back to us. Non-attachment is being calm, humble and understanding that the cycle of life and death is inescapable, and to accept it is to be at peace.
Smile and be well!