ImPermanent

 By the roadside grew - A rose of Sharon. My horse - Has just eaten it.   Matsuo Basho

What an interesting little quote greeted me as I opened a small book of thoughts on a few topics. This one was on impermanence, an issue which is, ironically, constant.

What in my life is permanent? Is it an object? A belief? A person? A place? Objects break or are lost - impermanent. Beliefs change according to one’s understanding - impermanent. People leave, places change - all are impermanent. What, then, can I stand on? Where do I fit? How can I feel safe?

I think the object may be to find my sense of permanence within the impermanent. While I, this earth-bound human, am not a permanent fixture in any sense, I still exist. I am Here, Now. Not permanent in the sense of being here forever—permanence in the Now. I always have Now.

Today, in this Now in which I have thoughts, take action, dream—however I choose to experience the moment, I choose to live in it fully, totally, with all of myself. There is nothing in my Now which is too holy to investigate, or so important that it must stay the same. This consciousness behind my eyes will take it all in, knowing that all it experiences is both personal and impersonal, permanent and impermanent.

Today, I choose to greet it all with gratitude. Each thought, each experience, every little thing is a miracle, no matter how long it lasts.