Review: The Art of Non-Attachment
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2013
[sic] is testament to an eye opening concept - a gripping, grizzly and modern re-framing of the ancient Buddhist practice of non-attachment.I thoroughly enjoyed reading Scott's account of protagonist Jacob, as he navigates his way through all the twists and turns of his friend David's game of Eureka and its fantastic, chaotic and sometimes tragic results.The question of "What am I holding on to?" kept recurring to me as I read. "Do I really need permission to let go? Must I wait to be tagged It?"My husband is my personal "David". In the nine years since I met him, I have change homes. I have changed almost everything in my home, from nearly every stick of furniture (some more than once) to wall hangings, clothing, cars, appliances, flooring, outbuildings, houseplants, you name it. Mostly giving the 'old' things away (some still new in the box). I have reduced my personal 'stuff' again and again until only the essentials remain. I am challenged to continue to revise my definition of what 'essential' means. I have changed jobs; I walked away from 9 years in a great company, good benefits, decent pay, all to start a trucking company with my husband and take off over the road. We have talked about selling the house and living in the truck. We may yet do that.My experiences letting go took more than fifteen minutes of consideration, but they were still jarring, scary, and sometimes painful. But always, looking back, I feel nothing but freedom from that letting go. My husband challenges me to let go. He is my Eureka.Reading [sic].... I love that it draws attention to the freedom and practice of letting go. I love seeing the characters grow (or not) - strike that. Maybe change is the better word. The story embraces the idea of what might happen when young people stumble upon this practice on their own.David stumbled upon the truth of the constancy of change, of letting go, and shared his insight with his friends and they all had the courage to explore what it meant for them.Discovery of Self. What drives me? What holds me back? What sets me free? That is what [sic] explored for me. And before I let it go, I hug a little smug feeling of satisfaction to myself, that my own life has known the freedom of change and of letting go.May everyone who reads [sic] take a moment to look at their own life and hold it up to the light of Eureka and see if they need to be tagged, or if they can simply let go from time to time.