Change Is The Only Constant!

Posted by Karl Moore

Life is a funny old thing.

All around us, every single day, things change.

It's the one thing that moves the whole world forward, and yet as individuals, we consistently resist it. Change is bad. Change frightens us. We do not want change!

But here's a magical little teaching: Everything changes.

It's annoying - but it does.

People die. Kids grow up. Stocks fail. Friends get married. Companies shut down. The things that bring us safety and security alter - and rock our worlds.

This cycle of life, this process of continual change is actually a basic premise in the Buddhist religion. Buddhists appreciate that everything has a beginning, and everything has an end.

It's not just limited to human change, either. Trees, mountains, airplanes, t-shirts, skyscrapers, champagne bottles, televisions. Everything has a start point, and everything has an end point.

So when you witness change in progress, you are merely witnessing things passing from one state to another in that journey from beginning to end.

Look around you right now.

Everything around you was created, and everything around you will ultimately be reduced to dust. That includes your body, too. Such is the transience of life. Nothing is forever.

The world is in a constant state of change.

Indeed, the only constant is change itself.

At first, this may seem disconcerting. But there's a certain peace in this teaching. Because by understanding what is actually happening, and knowing that this cycle is in written in stone, we're no longer "shocked" when these things occur.

Instead, we're able to appreciate the time we had.

Do you fully embrace change in the world right now?

Go and get your favourite household ornament right now. Mine is probably a beautiful grey marble bull that I bought in Mexico. Observe its colour, its artistic design, the workmanship that went into making this wonderful piece of work.

Then imagine it broken, smashed on the floor.

While doing that, try to keep in mind the thought that everything changes. Everything has a beginning and everything has an end.

So, rather than fighting against that transition - with screams, and anger, and weeping - we can instead simply shrug, and understand that's the cycle of life.

Quite simply, everything changes.

So, ask yourself - do YOU resist change in your life?

Are you fighting against the natural cycle from beginning to end?

Think about the last time you really got annoyed at how something changed. Perhaps you lost money in an investment. Or a relationship went sour. Or maybe you crashed your car.

How did you respond?

And can you take a moment out to appreciate how this is all just part of life's constant process of change? How life is churning around everything, constantly?

Just remember that everything is change.

You never step in the same river twice.

Can you even try and appreciate more of what you actually have right now - rather than waiting to miss it, once it has left your life?

This process of constant change can also be reassuring in times of need and grief. Because when you find yourself in bad situations, you can always be reminded that the next step in that constant cycle of change is not far away.

Yes, "even this shall pass."

So, don't fight against the constant cycle of change. It happens.

Appreciate the time you have with the things that are important to you - and know that ultimately, everything is reduced to dust.

This is not a cue to be passive toward life, and cease to pursue the positive. But rather, it's a technique for making peace with the world and its many, many inevitable transformations.

Being aware that everything is change gives you an understanding, an awareness... It gives youperspective when facing situations we find hard to get our heads around.

Yes, everything changes.

But learning to accept that natural cycle will bring you much greater peace and acceptance - and is worth a million self-development boot camps in your personal journey toward freedom.