But now sayest thou, that it behoveth thee to have thy necessaries of such things as belong unto thee, as well as a worldly man. I grant well thereto; but thou shouldst not love it for itself, nor have liking in the holding nor in the keeping, nor feel sorrow and heaviness in the losing, or in the withdrawing of it. For as St Gregory saith: As much sorrow as thou hast in losing of a thing, so much love hast thou in the keeping of it. And therefore if so be thy heart made whole, and thou hadst truly felt a desire of spiritual things, and therewith hadst a true sight of the least spiritual thing that is, thou wouldst set at nought all the love and liking of any earthly thing, it would not cleave to thee. (John Climacus)

The prospect -- even the surety of loss and separation -- should not dissuade us from recognizing the value of what we encounter.

Beautiful and wondrous worldly things come into our lives. Some we may own, many we may sense for mere moments. The beauty and wonder are worthy to embrace. It is appropriate to regret their loss.

I understand and respect the dangers of attachment, but detachment is seldom the best response. Instead we are called to mindful attention and thanksgiving.