The Law of Duality and and the Law of Impermanence walk hand in hand. One can’t exist without the other. Its simple…nothing ever remains the same on this plane(t) or in this universe. Everything is constantly changing rather evolving. Our solar system, our planet ever since their inception have been constantly evolving. Life on this planet is constantly changing / evolving. From apes to human beings and thereafter is nothing but a journey of constant evolution. From an infant to an adult, to old age and eventually death is the law of impermanence at work. The old cells in our bodies are over a period of time replaced by the new cells.
Therefore, what is fixed is the ever changing, ever evolving, ever expanding, endless essence of whole of existence. As they say, “Change is the only constant”.
When we look at our experiences, they also keep changing. Nothing ever remains the same or static. From happiness to sadness, day changes to night, profit becomes loss, positive becomes negative, birth becomes death, weather changes, temperature changes, young leaves in spring to changing their colors in autumn, flowers bloom and then wither way. Like the waves in the ocean, they arise and crash.
The rivers flow, and wherever they stagnate they become dead. They say that nothing can flow into or out of the Dead sea. No life can ever flourish in stagnation. Therefore, whatever flows, stays alive. Whatever stagnates, becomes dead. Examine closely – the peaks and valleys of our heart beat also means we are alive. The moment it becomes a flat line, we are declared dead.
So then why do we become so attached to our routines, way of life, way of thinking, way of looking at things – our perspective, our preferences, our perceptions, our attitudes? Its not rocket science – but when we become rigid to changes, we stagnate. Whatever stagnates, then eventually starts to stink. No wonder when we continue to recycle the same old internal thought garbage, our mindset starts stinking. When we resist the ever flowing nature within us, we start going against the flow of nature. Its foolish to go upstream – its exhausting, tiring. How long can one swim against the flow of the current? Its so much easier to go downstream , less exhausting, in a non resistance way. When we stop growing in life, our life experience starts deteriorating.
Yet we work hard day in day out to keep to our routines, to do what we have defined as our life and in turn our life experiences. And the moment any change comes our way, we feel as if our life has been thrown out of gear. We take our roles as partners or spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, employees or entrepreneurs and our lives way too seriously When we resist change, we go against the flow of life. When we go against the flow of life, life doesn’t flow easy.
When laws are not changed according to the progression of time, situation, and events, they become counter effective. When with time everything changes, it is of utmost importance that we too change our pattern of thinking, our belief systems. Adaptability is the key to success. When we closely examine the life of successful people – we find that their key character strength has always been adaptability and tenacity.
Particularly during this time of pandemic, since we have to be home bound, let us just simply go with the flow. Let us not resist the changes we are going through. Count our blessings. Practice gratitude for what we have and what we don’t have. Let us remember, whilst the journey of a caterpillar into a butterfly results in the death of the caterpillar, it is only through the transformation that the real beauty within the caterpillar shines. This is our journey of transformation.