At some point in life’s journey (and spiritual path) we may come across something that resonates with us so significantly that it hooks us forever by our very core like nothing else has…our heart, our soul, our entire being. It is made of “unconditional” love. It is pure and carries with it our very essence. It’s maybe something we didn’t think could possibly exist in this (at times) very cold world. It shows you a new beauty and meaning to life. We know for it to have such meaning it is also essentially intertwined with and not separate from our deepest selves. However, one day, it may be stripped of you entirely leaving you bleeding on the streets, leaving you a shadow of your former self. And you may suffer absolutely relentlessly, for months or years. You will know a depth of pain that will turn you inside out, feeling like your soul has been ripped to shreds, and it won’t leave you quite like other emotional pain has before. No, instead it will grind you to dust forever until you surrender to it. It becomes a sink or swim scenario: either your attachment to it causes you agony forever, or you surrender your attachment, little by little over the years. You learn to hold the love in your heart while letting go of the attachment to that specific form the love took. You re-find this fulfillment you found in it within yourself to the degree you can because there is simply no other option if you want inner peace again. What seems like a horribly cruel scenario is in the end the only thing that can burn you to the ground so you might rise anew — the suffering itself allows you to radiate more power, strength and beauty that you formerly only focused on the external for. The love teaches you lessons, and the loss teaches you lessons. It’s a completely agonizing, hellish journey, but in the end, may be the only thing that had the power to turn a coal into a diamond.
“Attachment is the strongest block to realization.” —Maharaj-ji