"To be able to enjoy fully the many good things the world has to offer, we must be detached from them. To be detached does not mean to be indifferent or uninterested. It means to be non-possessive. Life is a gift to be grateful for and not a property to cling to. A non-possessive life is a free life. But such freedom is only possible when we have a deep sense of belonging. To whom then do we belong? We belong to God, and the God to whom we belong has sent us into the world to proclaim in his Name that all of creation is created in and by love and calls us to gratitude and joy. That is what the 'detached' life is all about. It is a life in which we are free to offer praise and thanksgiving." (Henri Nouwen) To possess has been a root of sin in our life since Adam and Eve. They desired to possess the knowledge of good and evil for themselves, rather depend on the Lord to teach them. All is a gift from God and not a needed possession on our part. How often we ruin relationships through possession of the other rather than accepting the other in love! Detachment is not abandonment or neglect but freeing the other, whom we love, to be themselves even without me. This detachment is at heart of love and life and is part of the mystery of both.