Detachment as Seen in a Commercial

We all cling to certain things. Perhaps there is a sentimental attachment, or perhaps we think we might need some thing one day; even though that day never comes. Much of this is harmless. But certain attachments actually have negative impacts, hindering us from what we need to do.

For example, we cling to an old car that frequently breaks down, or to an old wound that keeps us from relating to others in a healthy way free from past trauma. Consider the following commercial where a surgeon is hindered in his work by an attachment. While it is cartoonish in its example, it does speak to attachments of the past that hinder our performance today.

https://vimeo.com/206149445

Other attachments make us so fearful of losing a thing or relationship that they render us incapable of perceiving far greater matters and threats. For example we can be so attached to social media that we do not see our own real family and children straying into serious sin. Or, we remain so fixated and infatuated on a relationship that we do not see how that person is using and corrupting us. More widely we are so fixed on the world that is passing away that we are unprepared for the end of all things that is rushing toward us. Consider the following video that shows a man so fixated on an old toy that he cannot see the avalanche rushing toward him.

https://youtu.be/aE-_NkQfAgs

Still other attachments simply blind us from seeing the world around us as it really is. Usually these are attachments to political philosophies and other viewpoints that refuse to see beyond these worldly ways of thinking. We can become downright dangerous if we do not learn to see that some of these views are wrong or at least in need of distinctions and qualifications. This commercial illustrates the danger of reusing to even consider things beyond our familiar and preferred viewpoints.

Enjoy these short videos on attachments and preferences.