Hi all, in my last blog I had stated that I would talk about mindfulness in daily actions, but this week I have experienced 2 big events in my life and I feel like the subject of impermanence is really where I am sitting.
For most people impermanence is associated with loss, but it is actually just a big word for change. Change can be good, bad or neutral. Everything is changing around and within us every moment. Nothing stays the same, although some things change so slowly that the change is not immediately noticed. Rocks and children are good examples. Ask any parent about their child and they will tell you that although they seem the same from day to day, a quick look at a few holiday pictures will show you just how much they have grown. Rocks on the other hand never seem to change, but a close look at the Grand Canyon or the Cliffs of Dover proves that rocks do change, albeit slowly...very slowly.
The truth is that all things appear, manifest and vanish
in every instantaneous moment of the now, the only time that actually exists. The me who just typed those words is already gone as the new me types these words. A continuation of that last moment me, but not the same me , because of the actions that I am taking writing this blog. The first me did not have the same memories that the second me has.
To be mindful (I guess I am writing about mindfulness after all) is to only do one thing at a time, not too easy in our on-line, multitasking world. It also means being aware of the impermanent nature of our selves and our world in this moment. Everything is changing, now.
This week change/impermanence came right up to me and said hello and goodbye. Hello because as some of you may know I have been very busy over the last few weeks setting up this blog and a web site. Both are published now and it is exciting for me to have a means to share my voice with you. My passion is being expressed and I happily spend time working on the gift that these sites has given me. I am very mindful while I work on them because time slips away, so that there is only me, the computer, and my intention that those I am meant to reach, to share with, can now find me. It is ironic however that when I say hello, I am saying goodbye as well. The text goes out and I'm on to my next piece, letting go so it has a life of it's own.
Not all change is so fluid, unfortunately. This week saw the death of my beloved pet, Zero. This is a painful loss. Zero was only 8 years old. He was fine one day, seemed under the weather the next and just like that he was gone. It tore my heart out. He was a beautiful black Bombay cat, sleek and tall like a statue of Bast and he had a little kink at the end of his tail, so when he laid it across his toes it curled. I tried to find a picture of him sitting like that for this blog then I remembered that whenever I attempted to take his picture he would always move (unless he was asleep). You see he was always on the move, always changing and that had been a source of joy and pain during our time together. He often sat with me as I meditated and he will be sorely missed. I have 2 other cats, but the house is strangely quiet without Zero on the prowl. Now I understand what SARK meant in her book "Glad No Matter What" when she wrote "...he will be dead for such a long time" about her father.
Impermanence or change is with us every moment., without it there would be no growth, no progress, no hope. The only thing in this world that doesn't change is the reality, the truth of impermanence/change. I am joyous about finding my voice and sharing it with those who care to listen, and so empty without my kitty pal Zero. I can accept both. Mindfulness about change is all about acceptance of whatever changes occur.
take time to appreciate the ones you love
take time to love yourself,
and don't worry too much about change
just let it flow to you and through you
and remember change is... the one thing that never changes.
blissings, amber
You can find my web pages at ashmends.weebly.com
a more extensive MENDs blog is there, but I will continue to post MENDs tips here in the future as well,
hope to see you...
Up next: well, so many topics, so hard to choose... it's a mystery, now
see you soon...
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