Life is Impermanent

And none of us are the exception.

Yesterday, I was in a coffee shop when the manager tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Now.”

“Story of my life,” I said.

She didn’t think that was funny.

As I gathered my belongings I watched as she frantically moved around the shop, asking the other patrons to do the same. My first thought was, Gas leak. Then I noticed the other employees weren’t doing anything, but instead just standing there. A few had tears in their eyes. I walked over and asked if they were OK. They told me they’d all just lost their jobs.

Apparently, the company had gone bankrupt and the employees had been instructed to immediately cease operations. I felt awful for them. I then thanked them (because I love the place), wished them peace, and left.

Shit happens fast in life. We don’t think that it will. We think the careers we curate will continue their ascents up to glory. We think the companies we build will stick around forever. We think the people we love will never betray or leave us. We think our health won’t falter.

And yet, we know the leaves fall in Autumn, don’t we? We see the dead insects on the sidewalk. We remember the loved ones we held tight who are no longer here. We know there is a cycle and the cycle demands that nothing stays as it is forever.

And yet—

we often live as if the reality of impermanence does not apply to us.

But it does.

We like to believe we are the exception because engaging in the delusion of permanence offers a respite from the terror that often follows the thought that we, like the leaves, are always falling.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can meditate on the impermanence of all that is in a way that brings vigor, not terror.

This is how I do it: At least once a day, I say to myself: Life is impermanent and I am not the exception. This does at least two things for me:

1: It places me within the grand story of everyone else. Yes, change is scary but if everyone is changing all the time, then it is natural and good and the proper order. This helps me embrace my impermanent status. It makes me a part of the grand, cosmic order. And I believe this grand order is a good one, ordained by an Intelligence of Love. This means I can trust the order. And trust produces peace.

2: It helps me get radically present to what is. With that mindset, I take less for granted. Shit moves fast, remember? That means the people and the conditions I love are not going to stay the same for long. If I want to do something, I better do it now because the winds of change are always upon us. I must be present. Always.

There is a Doris Lessing quote I lean on whenever I feel myself indulging the delusion of permanence. Lessing says: “Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.”

The conditions are always impossible, which makes them forever perfect for doing whatever needs doing.

What are we waiting for? After all, we never know when that tap on the shoulder is coming and we’ll be asked to leave or change or, in the end, say goodbye.

Life is impermanent, but it’s only a problem if we fool ourselves into thinking it is.

Peace and Love.

P.S. This is a photo of my final cup. I always liked their design. Here’s to hoping the good folks who worked there land on their feet.

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