Impermanence

“All things are created impermanent. Strive on with diligence.”

Through these words, the Buddha encourages us to perceive change for what it is, a constant in life.  Many of us suffer when things change. The lesson really lies in this: suffering arises when we cling.

“It is possible to find ease and grace in the world of change; it is possible to trust the mind of non-clinging and so find our liberation within the world of impermanence.”

Easier said than done, right?

FLASHBACK:

• being in 8th grade hugging friends,sobbing about going into high school
• 12th grade nostalgic for high school years as I prepared for college
•  nervous/excited leaving home to join the working world in the Bay Area, CA
• the ultimate transition: moving to and from 5 different countries to make home again

I’m a clinger. I love people, experience, memory. I mourn, cry, mope when I leave something old for something new. Yet, within each change, there has been stretching, questioning, discovery, and joy. Many of my changes have been due to choice. Some, God or the universe chose. But, I have to believe that somewhere in all of it, is some kind of happy impermanence.

                                                                                                                  photo credit

• Buddha
• change
• impermanence