Acknowledging Impermanence and Change
Change is inevitable, and impermanence is reality
The one and only constant in the Universe is change.
Change can, will, and does occur all the time. No two moments are the same. Alike, maybe, but the same? No. That’s how frequently change occurs.
You might not believe it. But because people tend to resist, combat, and overall won’t accept change and the reality of it – tons of conflict on many levels is the result.
A great deal of this is based on ignoring or denying the reality of change and impermanence.
You might not be familiar with impermanence – but it’s a useful notion to know.
What is impermanence?
Impermanence is defined by dictionary.com as:
Noun
the fact or quality of being temporary or short-lived.
Why is it good to recognize and embrace impermanence? Think of it this way – if the Universe is nearly 14 billion years old, the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and the average human lifespan is 80 years – human life is distinctly impermanent.
During the span of your life, people, places, things, experiences, and everything else you can imagine will come and go. Good, bad, or otherwise – nothing lasts forever.
Embracing this truth can be empowering and massively positive because it opens you to better handling when things go badly.
Nobody at all has good days all the time.
Some of these seem bigger and more impactful than others. And they will be. That’s partially due to attachment and comfort zones.
Attachment is when you are unable and/or unwilling to let go of something. It might be seemingly small.
Comfort zones are places of extreme familiarity and the impression of stability that might not truly be comfortable.
Recognizing impermanence
Everything and everyone you know changes. It’s a constant, a given, a universal fact.
Slow or fast, change can, will, and does occur. All the time. Thus, nothing in your life – nothing you know, feel, believe, or value – is unchangeable.
That’s impermanence. And recognizing impermanence opens you to more easily roll with the punches in the face of change and its inevitability.
Why? Because since impermanence recognizes that everything everywhere changes – you empower yourself to be better able to work with and through change.
This is a positive notion because it means the bad, negative, unpleasant things that happen will pass.
This week’s Applied Guidance for Mindfulness Tool:
This week’s tool requires you to let go of something.
Choose an item you have that doesn’t truly serve you. I don’t mean a useful tool, a special paperweight you got from your grandfather, or anything that you frequently recognize. Choose something you have but barely notice, often forget about or hasn’t been useful to you for some time.
Give it away. Don’t sell it, give it away. You can donate it somewhere or just randomly pass it to a stranger. If you can give away that item anonymously, do so.
Either give away 3 items on 3 different days this week or multiple items all at once. Release anything you’ve been at least partly attached to but aren’t anymore.
How does it feel to detach from this mostly useless thing? Will you remember giving it away in a week or two? This lesson in impermanence can be deeply freeing and empowering to you.
Blogs: titaniumdon.com and mjblehart.medium.com
Original cover art artist Fe Mahoney: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TaliasInspirations