If a sceptic asks, "Why should I be detached from the things and creatures which make me happy?" the answer is a multiple one. First, their transiency--all and everyone are subject to change, thus making possible a change in the happiness you get from them. Second, their brevity--next year they may not be present for your enjoyment, whether through death, accident, illness, or ill-fortune. Third, life is like a dream; its solid reality is a borrowed feeling not really there but in the deeper being of yourself. Fourth, and final--to discover this being is why you are here anyway, what you have to do in the end, even if you put it off for many a reincarnation. Nor will you miss out on happiness if you do respond to the idea of detachment. It does not mean living like a caveman. It does not mean denying life, art, comfort, humanity.
-- Notebooks Category 2: Overview of Practices Involved > Chapter 7 : Discipline Desires > # 124
