The Dog Ate My Attachment

     I vividly remember the first day of yoga class, and I should, since it was only a few weeks ago. At the end of class, after we had done “the lying down pose,” our instructor told us that we would be receiving eye pillows to help us relax in practice. I was eagerly anticipating their arrival date, and when they finally came I was ecstatic. I was given a richly colored, burgundy eye pillow that smelled like lavender and the essence of relaxation. The very small beads or seeds or kernels inside were enclosed in a slightly stretchy, and very smooth, fabric. Needless to say, I became very attached to my wonderful eye pillow, and used it often before dozing off for the night (Shamefully though, I must admit, because I always felt it had a sacred and reserved use for yoga only). Some may say that my eye pillow and I were inseparable, and they would be right. My eye pillow was always within reach, or at least in a spot on my desk that I once believed was safe.

     One day, after I came home from class and began to work on homework, my roommate’s black lab puppy came to visit me in my room. While I was absorbed in my work, the dog stole my beloved eye pillow and began to chow down. By the time I realized what nefarious deeds took place behind my back, the pillow was utterly destroyed. The pup had chewed through the soft and delicate fabric to access the sweetly scented beads beneath. I was devastated.

     However hurtful this feeling may be, I took it as a lesson. I had become very attached to my eye pillow and that had become a problem. I had started to rush through my poses in anticipation of  my eye pillow time. The attachment I held for the eye pillow I was given had become detrimental to my practice of yoga. Now my eye pillow is gone, as is my attachment for the object of comfort, and I am better for it. The eye pillow was a nice luxury, but pleasure is fleeting, and now I practice every pose with the focus I once paid to the pillow.