Attachments

As we drill down into bankruptcy paperwork, the issue of being able to keep both of our vehicles is on the table.

If we cannot keep both, there are pros and cons for keeping one or the other.

My vehicle is a 2003 Toyota, my 3rd Camry in 13 years, and my first new car purchase. I call ‘her’ Espiritu (or Espirit II). My first one was named Spirit, but when ‘she’ was totaled in Santa Fe in 1999, I thought, "I’ve lost my Spirit" - not a very healthy double entendre. So my cars since then have been christened Espiritu, keeping to the idea that Spirit is with me as I travel. [My current license plate is GUIDEME, another reminder of God.]

So you can see I feel pretty close to my car. It is a symbol of independence, it conveys convenience, it is an asset (she’s all paid off!).

Yes, my car is a thing, an inanimate object even if I talk about it like a person. These days I am placing less importance on material things, and focusing more and more on matters of the spirit. It’s just ‘stuff’. Having, accumulating, and maintaining stuff is a burden. It takes me off track and can contribute to me losing my peace. Still, I can sometimes get caught up in this culture’s game.

And so, my morning prayer this day, as I started feeling anxious about having to possibly give up my Camry was:
May we treat our blessings as blessings, and not attachments.

Having reliable, safe, comfortable transportation at my fingertips has been a wonderful blessing. Let me remember it as such and not be attached to it. And, in the same vein, may I remember that God is the Source of all, and the sole attachment that I will truly ever want or need.