Impermanence

I took these photos in December 2004 when my husband and I visited the south rim of the Grand Canyon. They do not do justice to the breathtaking scale of the Canyon, but nicely illustrate the principle of impermanence.

Even the earth under our feet is dynamic and ever-changing.

I like the way the band Kansas described it in song:

I close my eyes
Only for a moment and the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity...

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground
Though we refuse to see...

Now don't hang on
Nothin' lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy

Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Impermanence and its consequences (aging, death, erosion, disintegration, decay, etc.) are inevitable. Our best strategy is to experience the present moment like wind blowing through your hair, accepting it with open-heartedness and curiousity, then letting it go.

Easier said than done, but a good goal.