It was the second week of March here in the Northeast after a very cold and icy winter. Not a day in the last three months went by when I didn’t have to wear a heavy coat, mittens, hat, and spikes attached to my boots in order to walk outside.
Finally, the snow and ice had melted, and I was able to shed the layers and spikes for the first time this year.
The earth was thawing, the birds, how they chirped welcoming the relief of subzero degree weather and happily looking for their friends who they hadn’t seen in a few months. As I walked, the smell of spring and the sight of tulips peeking up through the ground put a spring in my step.
Not twenty-four hours later, on the same walk. Same path. Mother nature had other plans.
There was a complete white-out. Another snowstorm was dumping 6 inches of snow, covering the earth, trees, and rooftops. Here come the snowplows once again.
The very next day started with overcast skies, but within a couple of hours, the clouds disappeared, and the sun shined brightly, warming the earth and melting the new-fallen snow once again, making way for the birds to come out and play.
Just a temporary setback!
But then, I looked at the forecast. Another blizzard was on its way, and another foot of snow was predicted!
Welcome to the Northeast… where the weather serves as a lesson in impermanence and non-attachment.
Mother Nature can be one of the greatest teachers for those who love to control or feel most comfortable with predictability! She sure knows how to make life uncomfortable to teach us these sacred life lessons.
And isn’t this life? Nothing is permanent—neither suffering nor joy.
The more we get attached to a certain state, the more difficult a change can be.
I have learned that it is not how to walk around the fire but, most importantly, how to walk through it.
No matter how beautiful the world is out there or how challenging it feels, the state of equanimity invites a mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in difficult situations. And the condition of the world has certainly provided room to practice!
This does not mean that we stick our heads in the sand and ignore the realities of life. The practice of accepting impermanence simply reminds us to detach from the outcome.
Things come and go. Good weather and bad weather. Security and vulnerability. Abundance and scarcity. Suffering and joy. Peace and war.
Many times, both can exist at the same moment.
There are many ways in which we humans contribute to our own suffering. Attaching to a particular outcome or a perspective is certainly one of them.
I invite you to consider these things:
Is your attachment to a particular outcome or circumstance keeping you suffering?
Is the suffering you are feeling negatively impacting the quality of your life or other experiences?
What could happen if today, you could trust that things are exactly as they need to be in this moment?
What possibilities could exist if you could release your judgment and the need to know or control the outcome?
And finally, what possibilities could exist if you accepted impermanence?