On Attachment
Merriam-Webster defines attachment as:
1: connected or joined to something
2: emotionally connected: having strong feelings of affection or connection
3: permanently fixed when adult
In many senses, attachment is necessary and good; but have you ever stopped to think about the severity and complexity of the attachments we experience in our lives? Let’s consider the difference between permanently fixed versus connected. Just as using scotch tape to seal a surgical wound would be harmful and damaging, superglue would be a harmful substitute for a magnet when displaying art on the refrigerator. While these scenarios are downright silly and obvious you might be surprised how often your level of attachment to things, ideas, people, and places can be damaging and limiting to your experience of a happy and full life.
Notice that the dictionary definition of attachment refers to emotional connection as “having strong feelings of affection.” Emotional connection is not harmful. It is flexible, inviting, allowing. What is the difference between emotional connection vs emotional [permanent] fixation? Being permanently fixed is oppressive, compulsive, and obsessive. It is rigid and controlling. While connection and fixation might both join two entities, one is from a place of abundance and wholeness while the other is from a place of control and scarcity. Supergluing art to the fridge assumes that there will never be another piece to exhibit. It limits the opportunity for the artist to grow, try new mediums, and highlight their work moving forward. Over time the art is likely to become worn and tattered on the fridge until it is eventually removed in several pieces, leaving marks behind, and becoming unrecognizable. Connection is when two things can come together or move apart and maintain their wholeness. A magnet allows for the artist to easily remove older pieces to replace them with new, perhaps improved, or different pieces. The magnet might also allow for non-art items to be hung or to hang multiple things at once. Equally, as people, we can experience connection and other positive feelings to many things, moving freely between experiences, removing ourselves from situations that are no longer serving us, embracing something new, without fear of losing our wholeness.
