Attachments—we all have them. And as I wrote yesterday, when we get our attachments out of whack—money before work, work before wife, wife before spiritual health, anything before spiritual health—our disordered attachments drag us off our ultimate purpose. What is our ultimate purpose? For the person of faith, it might be said this way: “To seek God, to know him, to love him with all our strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.” (My adaptation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.) For the atheist or agnostic, it might be captured with some other maxim, but still, shouldn’t that purpose be bigger than ourselves?

Herein lies the first inkling of truth. We locate those things we’re prone to attach to in The Self, so let’s stretch beyond yesterday’s examination of the calendar and turn inward. Let’s identify our potential disordered attachments. Ask yourself:

What are the things I want, the things I use, and my default emotions when stress or pain comes calling?
Do I turn to sex, booze, or material instead of turning to God or my neighbor?
Do I allow my anger, sadness, or hypercriticism to keep me from connecting with God, my family, and my friends? (Yes, emotions can be disordered attachments, too.)
Do I attach to entertainment, to a good-and-proper Netflix binge or some mind-numbing cell phone video game?

Record your answers. Then come back tomorrow for a discussion on The Economy of Attachments.

***TODAY’S TASK: ORDER AND FORWARD***

THE BOOK OF WAKING UP —a book on addiction, attachment, and the Divine Love--launches in just a few short weeks and IT’S TIME TO ORDER YOUR COPY. Today:

1. Order a copy or ten at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever good books are sold; and,

2. Forward this post to a friend and ask them to read along.