Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

The other day I saw a friend I hadn't seen in a while and asked him what was new. His reply: "Everything! All the time!"

And of course he's right. In the continuous flow of life, change is the only reliable element. We lose track of this basic reality when life takes on predictable, safe schedules and routines, and it doesn't seem like anything really is new or changing. When something tragic or otherwise momentous occurs, we are brought back to the truth that life is actually pretty chaotic and we are never far from moments that will de- and re- construct our lives completely. Even when it's not obvious and dramatic, we are all still always changing.

When you are in a period of rapid, massive overhaul, change is the new black. Destabilization of normal routines becomes so normal and routine that one can almost become jaded to it. ("Newness? How completely ordinary! Yawn.") Yet even in this space of reliable unpredictability, there still lurk surprises. For example, the theme of this past week was Completion. I pulled this Osho Zen card for the week and with a big ol' crazy, eclipse-y full moon on Wednesday it made sense. What was difficult and surprising about the changes of the week was the seeming completion of several relationships that have been defining in important ways. Of course, it's impossible to definitively determine what the future holds, but this week definitely brought about some clear endings.

Endings, deaths of various kinds, are really just a transformation that cycles right around again to rebirth. One thing ends, another begins. One door closes, another opens. We're born, we die. And so on and so forth. Even as I am doing some major completing, I am forming new relationships and connections. These future possibilities provide some comfort when faced with letting go of the past.

All the things we love will eventually end or be gone, and will be replaced by new. The Yoga Sutras teach us not to be so moved by these gains and loses, but to simply witness this flow of the tide. If you're not quite so enlightened yet, think about it like San Francisco weather: If you don't like it, stick around. It's sure to change anytime now.

Comments

  1. "The Yoga Sutras teach us not to be so moved by these gains and loses, but to simply witness this flow of the tide." <-- Nice! :)

    Love peeking into that thoughtful mind of yours!

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