Simplicity: Meister Eckhart on Detachment

Meister Eckhart (d. 1328), the German Dominican mystic, taught that detachment (Abgeschiedenheit) is the supreme virtue -- even greater than love or humility. He wrote: "I have read much writing of both pagan masters and prophets, of the Old and the New Testament, and I have sought earnestly to find the best and highest virtue by which man can most fully unite himself with God. And when I examine all these writings, as far as my reason can grasp, I find none but pure detachment from all created things."

Eckhart did not mean coldness or indifference. He meant freedom from attachment -- the ability to hold all things lightly, receiving them as gifts but not clinging to them as possessions. "The person who has truly let go is so established in the divine being that no fleeting thing could disturb them." This inner freedom, Eckhart taught, is the prerequisite for experiencing God fully.

Practical application: Choose one thing you feel strongly attached to -- a daily routine, a comfort food, a digital habit -- and release it for one week. Notice the anxiety that arises and bring it to God in prayer. Eckhart teaches that our attachments reveal where we have placed our security in something other than God.