If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.
(Mark 9:44)
Attachments bind us to sin as closely as our limbs are bound to our body. It is not the hand that causes sin, but the attraction to worldly temptations. How can I detach myself, Lord? What is keeping me from loving and serving you more completely?
Why do I get angry and impatient? I am attached to a plan, and I see interruptions as obstacles. It is not the plan that matters. It is just a path to a goal. If I am walking along a path and meet others on the way, do I shout at them for interfering? I am on a public path; it does not belong to me. How could I resent those who share it? Their immediate goals may be different from mine, but we are all searching. Whether or not we know it, we are looking for you. It is our nature to seek the ultimate good, the ultimate truth, the ultimate love.
Please help me to give up my rushing, my craving for logic and my restlessness. Let me stop and greet whomever you send. Let me invite all to travel with me a stretch of the road. Let me help them over logs, around puddles, and through briers, and let me graciously accept their help. I will not forget my destination while I enjoy their company. With you, there is no time, only now. Why do I think it is so important, then? Let me cut off my preoccupation with time.