Buddha stated attachment to loved ones and material things are causing us to suffer. When some people hear this they say things like, ‘so I can’t love my family, friends or children?’ This is because they are getting attachment and love confused. They are not the same thing.

Of course we should love and have compassion for our families and friends, in fact we should love and have compassion for everyone. But what we shouldn’t do is hold onto them as though they belong to us and they are permanent. It is this holding onto things tightly that is causing us to suffer.

We think this person or thing is mine and I will always have it. So when it dies, leaves us or stops working we are not mentally prepared for it and we invariably suffer. This is attachment.

If we understand that things change and nothing lasts forever, we will love without attachment, and in my eyes that is true love. Enjoy the people around you and the things you have at the moment, but keep in mind that someday they will not be there. This is love.

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