It was just yesterday when the world was bursting firecrackers and merrily ushering in the 1st of January 2025; the din has barely died down and we’ve already slid into the month of February. Alas! It was also just a few of these Februarys ago when I was young and vibrant, but changes took place unscrupulously and discreetly. And now, I can barely recognise the face staring back at me from in the mirror, as the same me, that was.
But then, it is said that ‘Time and tide wait for no man,’ so I guess both have moved forward relentlessly and there’s nothing I or anyone could do or can do to either slow them down or to stop them altogether. It’s in their wake, changes happen; nothing stays the same, nor can stay the same, nor can it last forever. This means that any and everything that exists is impermanent – uncertain and temporary.
This immutable principle isn’t just for you and me and ours, but for every written word, every carved stone, every painted picture, and every civilisation, no matter how great or powerful they were. Nothing is exempt; even the mighty mountains, the expansive continents, the far-off planets, and the stars; even the black hole itself, is continually undergoing change and deterioration, towards that eventuality when it’ll crumble into nothingness, like the leaves and flower that vanish after summer!
Nonetheless, knowing full well that change is inevitable, and whatever is now will not stay as is, and there’ll be a day when it’ll disintegrate or be gone. I, as a mortal, remain blindsided, biased, and selective. I love to see the grandchildren growing, but it pained me to see my parents age and eventually leave. I’ve also, unrealistically, wished for hubby dear and myself to remain young and as oblivious to each other’s flaws as we were when we first met.
I am petrified of this indisputable and all-pervading nature of impermanence; the uncertainty and unpredictability trigger extreme anxiety and I live under a constant shadow of dread and fear. However, I do retain some logic and haven’t quite thrown caution to the wind. So, I have succumbed to buying insurance policies ‘just in case’ any unpleasant and unpredictable events visit me, my loved ones, or my belongings.
Or worst still, there’s a natural catastrophe, or our good ‘ol Thailand goes through a political upheaval, or Trump turns the world around on its head. Despite the insurance and assurances, it’s difficult to come to terms with unstoppable change that continuously shake my world. So, I blindfold my eyes and continue to invest my emotions into my relationships, belongings, and into my own self, knowing for sure-as-sure-gets, that everything will eventually give way to change or breakage or total dissolution. I am well aware that this inability to accept the glaring reality will bring me pain and grief, rejection and disappointment.
I thought I’d sit with this law of impermanence and try to understand it a little better. I know, you know, that nature and creation are never frivolous, neither is it unkind; everything is designed with wisdom and logic, whether we see it or not. So, then I experienced a flicker of eureka! The ‘balanced duality’ started to make complete sense.
See, if the constant wind of change does not allow anything or anyone or any one circumstance to remain as is for any length of time, then, in as much as the good times don’t last, no matter how much we’d like them to. Subsequently, we can take comfort in knowing that neither will these unpleasant and difficult times. ‘This too shall pass’! Therefore, come what may, they’ll not stay, but blow over to make way for renewed growth and a chance for betterment; the next shift, the next change, will throw doors open for endless new opportunities and possibilities waiting for you and me!