I love that shortly after I had my morning's flash, I read Fr. Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation where he spelled out exactly what this detachment is all about, and the why of it:
"[You are] not saying, 'Everything is beautiful,' even when it's not. However, you do come to 'Everything is still beautiful' by facing the conflicts between how reality is and how you wish it could be. In other words, you have to begin--and most people do in their adult years--with dualistic problems. You've got to name good and evil and differentiate between right and wrong. You can't be naïve about evil. But if you stay focused on this duality, you'll [be judging]. You'll become an unlovable, judgmental, dismissive person."
There. Detaching from the duality...mentally separating Gertrude's defects from Gertrude...is learning to love the person yet not take her defects personally. Maybe we're talking forgiveness here?
I'm convinced that as long as we fear finding the gold in judging, we'll live in fear of our own opinions. We'll wind up calling mud chocolate ice cream, being very...very!...disappointed and discouraged which inevitably will lead to our becoming "an unlovable, judgmental, dismissive person."
Maybe spiritual growth is also about learning the art of discernment. Learning to know his mud for his mud, to name it as such but not sling it...to accept it for his/hers and let it be; i.e., love them anyway. And laugh. At our self. For needing to go through all these gyrations just to get to love.
No wonder God's got a great sense of humor...look at his material!
Thank you.
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