Each moment I die

Each moment I die

I took a breath 

It gave me life 

and

then

I exhaled 

and 

there was death

I opened my eye

and 

the I saw

and 

I blinked

The image was gone to be no more

I touched the water 

and 

felt

the coolness 

and 

then I moved by hand

and 

that water no longer felt the same

I smelled the air

and 

there was the Jasmine flower

I held the scent

and 

then I exhaled 

and 

the scent was gone

I hear the bird

and

cherished the song

and

then the bird flew away

and 

the song was gone

I grieved the moment

and

they are all gone

and

I can never find them again

Each moment is new following the death of the prior moment

The notion of impermanence is a strong tenant of Buddhist thought. The idea is that nothing is permanent - nothing. Each time you have a moment, it is different from the prior moment. Each time you return to favourite place, it is different than the last time. Each time you encounter an emotion, it is not the same as the previous encounter. Each time you engage with a friend, that friend is different.

It is a challenging concept. We like to think of some things as permanent - a mountain for example. But the elements play upon the mountain moment by moment changing it. We like to think of our selves as having at least some sense of permanency, even if only for certain periods of our lives. But the person who went to bed is not the same one who woke up.

Buddhist writers, based upon this  notion of impermanence, caution us to avoid attachment as you cannot hold onto that which is always changing. The same of our own sense of self - our ego.

The notion is not unique to Buddhism. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher noted, "No many ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

As humans, we tend to try to hold on - even become obsessive - to that which is impermanent and thus, by definition, beyond our control. When you walk to the shore discover it anew and be with it at this very moment knowing that even that ripple in the water is visible evidence of change and impermanence.

© Peter Choate 2016