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The universe is change. Life is opinion.”
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 4.3.4b
Nothing is constant, except for change. We can count on things changing; remaining the same, untouched by time, is simply not an option for those of us being realistic. Unwavering consistency, therefore, is an illusion.
Each moment how many little (or not so little) changes and transitions happen within our own bodies? Hundreds? Thousands? Hairs fall out, skin cells die and are sloughed off, fresh memories replace the ones that once occupied spaces of prominence in our minds. There are some Buddhists that believe that even if there were no other changes besides the thousands of micro changes our physical bodies experience, we’re not the same person we were a second ago.
The only thing that keeps us (or someone else) constant is the ego-mind. The ego wants things to stay constant because consistency brings ease and comfort… the very things the ego-mind desires. The ego-mind cannot accept the universal truth of change because there’s nothing about an ever-changing reality that one can grasp on to. Change is something we must learn to accept, because if we don’t, we’ll just be stuck thinking we’re someone we’re not. We’ll delude ourselves into believing we’re the same person we were a second ago. We’ll delude ourselves that others are the same person they were the last time we saw them, or from a decade ago, or from when we were in high school together, etc. etc. etc.
Universally speaking, change is the only thing we can count on.
Accept it.
(See y’all tomorrow)
Each moment how many little (or not so little) changes and transitions happen within our own bodies? Hundreds? Thousands? Hairs fall out, skin cells die and are sloughed off, fresh memories replace the ones that once occupied spaces of prominence in our minds. There are some Buddhists that believe that even if there were no other changes besides the thousands of micro changes our physical bodies experience, we’re not the same person we were a second ago.
The only thing that keeps us (or someone else) constant is the ego-mind. The ego wants things to stay constant because consistency brings ease and comfort… the very things the ego-mind desires. The ego-mind cannot accept the universal truth of change because there’s nothing about an ever-changing reality that one can grasp on to. Change is something we must learn to accept, because if we don’t, we’ll just be stuck thinking we’re someone we’re not. We’ll delude ourselves into believing we’re the same person we were a second ago. We’ll delude ourselves that others are the same person they were the last time we saw them, or from a decade ago, or from when we were in high school together, etc. etc. etc.
Universally speaking, change is the only thing we can count on.
Accept it.
(See y’all tomorrow)
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