Are You Ready for a Change?

“Things change. People change. Everything changes. The universe is in a flux. Energy reinventing itself constantly.” ~ Gina Linko

Autumn has arrived in Tahoe and, as the leaves begin to turn, we are reminded that life is always changing. Change is not only an inescapable fact of life, it’s also the very nature of reality. Unfortunately, change is also one of the things that we fear the most. So, what can we do to cope with the impermanent nature of existence? You are probably familiar with the saying that the only constant in life is change, but how well do you really understand the concept of impermanence?

Impermanence is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. Nothing that you encounter in life is permanent. Everything that you experience is in the process of vanishing, only to reappear again in a different form. All things in the physical world, including your own body, are subject to impermanence. In fact, scientists have proven that every single cell in your body is replaced every 7 to 10 years. As a result, you literally aren’t the same person that you were ten years ago.

This state of impermanence is not only limited to the physical world. Your thoughts, emotions and external circumstances are also in a constant state of flux. The universe itself is a dynamic energy system, and energy never wants to be static. The nature of energy is to move, to flow, and to transform itself. Knowing this, you can’t really expect anything in your life to stay the same forever.

And yet impermanence is the source of almost all suffering. More specifically, our attachment to impermanent things is what causes us to suffer. For example, we irrationally expect our loved ones to go on living forever, and then we are devastated when they can’t live up to our impossible expectations. Likewise, we wish that our youth would go on forever, causing us to lament the passage of time. Whenever you are attached to something that is impermanent, you will inevitably be disappointed and suffer a feeling of loss when change comes. Only by fully understanding the impermanent nature of reality can you release your attachment to the world of form, liberating yourself from the cycle of human suffering.