With Love, Detached.

Mourning our street dog's passing with gratitude

My favourite street dog passed away over the weekend.

He had been sick for a few weeks, and despite our efforts to nurse him back to health, he left us much sooner than expected.

Feeding him and talking about his reactions had become a happy highlight of our days. He would come running to us with the faintest whistle. Every time we started petting his head, he would slowly move forward until his bum was under our hand. That’s where he needed scratches, and he always let us know.

As we sat crying and talking about this, I noticed one big difference in our takeaways from this loss.

Sundaram said, “My mom was right. We barely spent time with him, and it’s already this painful. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a pet we watched grow up and loved deeply.”

I, on the other hand, found myself a little more ready to have a pet.

Because even as I was grieving for the loss, I also felt joy. Whatever little we had done, we had managed to make that angel happy in our capacity in his short life. Even the day before his passing, we had gone to feed him. While he refused the food, we sat by him, and my partner petted him until he fell asleep.

Yes, it’s hard to realise that we can’t spend time with him anymore. But my tears are a very small price for the many happy memories, laughs, and pets.

This is the beauty of detached love.

It allows you to appreciate the moments we have without trying to control or hold onto them. It’s the kind of love that allowed me to feel joy and gratitude for the time we spent with our furry friend, even as I experienced grief.

Detached love is about embracing the impermanence of life. It’s recognizing that all relationships, whether with pets or people, are temporary and that their value lies in the quality of the connection, not its duration. By loving this way, we can fully enjoy the present without the fear of future loss overshadowing our happiness.

It’s a powerful way to love, as it brings peace, acceptance, and a profound appreciation for the present moment.

Curiosity Corner

"Curiosity is the key to creativity and joy. Explore the world with wonder and happiness will follow."

Since I’m not naturally curious, I’ll pursue and share one new curiosity each week as a practice—no matter how utterly useless it might be!

I have been going to the gym for a month now. But I have never tried any setting other than the quick start one on the cardio machines. So, I thought why not take a ‘Fit Test’ and I was really happy with the result.

Little Joys

“Joy is always around if only we pause to acknowledge it.”

With life's burdens and big ambitions, it's easy to overlook our everyday joys. Let's practice noticing them together?

• I followed a recipe and cooked for my people after a long time.

• I spent the entire weekend resting and doing things like playing cards.

• I signed up for a course on happiness. I did one a few years ago on positive psychology and loved it. I’m glad to be finally making time for it again.