In a previous post, I mentioned some practical methods that one can use to be really free. All in an attempt to move beyond nihilism’s grasp. Well, here is a method that I sometimes put myself through. It is a self assessment of just how “free” I am. It lets one figure out just how desperately we hold on to certain things. It also helps you question the value of some of the things we hold on to.
Ask yourself the question “Can I leave tomorrow?”. The implication is simple. You have to leave tomorrow. Leave it all behind. And you don’t know when you will return. All you know is that it is for a long time. It might be a year or ten or never. To be safe, assume that you will never ever return.
Your transport leaves early tomorrow morning. You do not even require any money where you are going. Think of it as an all expenses paid lifelong trip. So, there is no need to assemble all your cash before tomorrow. No need to liquefy assets. Say goodbye to all your assets and also to all your liabilities! No debt collectors or tax collectors will know where you went. You are not leaving a forwarding address (because you don’t even know where you are going). Even the government will not be able to reach you if they wanted. You will be free of it all.
This goes for all the people you know as well. You are to leave behind your father, mother, chidren, husband or wife or any loved ones. You are to leave behind your friends. You are also to leave your enemies. People who despise you. People who are jealous of you. Every last one of them.
All that you can take with you are the clothes that you are wearing. If you absolutely must, you can take your toothbrush, although personal needs like these will be fulfilled where you are going. You really don’t need to take anything at all. No cash, identity cards, passports or credit cards are required. Just leave it all behind.
You get the premise by now.
When you imagine this scenario, what or who do you find yourself having the most trouble leaving behind? Is it any particular family or friends that you would miss the most? Someone you know that you just can’t live without? Or is there a person that you can leave behind but you do not wish to hurt them? Perhaps you have responsibilities that you can’t leave behind. Responsibilities such as raising a child or taking care of an elderly parent.
Or do you miss leaving behind your possessions? Maybe you will miss your shiny car or motorcycle. Or maybe you will miss the luxury of your home. Your cushy job or the big bank account? Stocks, bonds or real estate? Maybe your life savings? Something that you have been saving and savouring for a long time.
Is there someone or something that you would smuggling along with you? Do you find yourself bargaining: “If I can just bring my _________, I can leave tomorrow”?
So what did you decide? Can you do it? What is holding you back? Is something holding you back so much that you decide that this exercise isn’t for you? Maybe the thought induces stress?
Unless you are among the handful of people who can answer an emphatic Yes to the posed question, you have just discovered that you hold on to things (material and immaterial wealth) a bit too tightly. And when the time and circumstances force you to let go, you will resist. That resistance is the cause of suffering and pain we experience. The essence of this exercise is to realize the points of attachment and work loosening your grip of them. Now you know what things or people you are most latched on to. You know exactly where to focus on if you must work on letting go.
If you are someone who performs this self test and can honestly say that you can leave tomorrow, then congratulations! You can truly let go of it all. You are also among a very rare and elite group of people in the world who can do this. You didn’t even need to do this exercise because you get it! Right?
Nice post! you’ve focussed on one of the focal points of the Gita…
“you came with nothing, you leave with nothing. Attachment to the material world is the source of all sorrow and disillusion”
very nice way of turning this into a post that tests the reader.
Thanks Fourthdan.
The scenario I describe in this post–i.e. of leaving tomorrow without anything that you have accumulated, is very analogous to dying. But I didn’t want to introduce the notion of death in there because then people would automatically default to their thoughts on their own death. And no new thought patterns would emerge.
Material things no issue gone….. My only child…Never would I leave her until she is grown and on her own. Then I am outta here! But thanks for makinig everyone think about this it is high time everyone realized material things are nothing at all and it can all be left behing. People I cannot. Sorry I am not that good.
Ann,
Thanks for the comment. I suppose it isn’t about being good or bad. But rather, learning about what things are more dear to you than others. And I am glad that you realized that people are more important to you than materialistic things.
If I was entrusted with a life like you are, I would probably choose the same as you did. There is nothing wrong with taking care of someone. In fact, if done with a passion, it can be a very powerful and uplifting experience.