Life is Change

Change is Life

from JoeUser Forums
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
 
Our living room is looking very strange.  Paintings that once adorned the walls are stacked now against them, boxes are stacked with markers telling us to what part of our house they belong. The kitchen has been packed.  The library has been packed. The bathrooms have been packed. We are left with the odds and ends necessary to continue to live in this condo until Tuesday when son Jason arrives to move in.  Over this weekend we hope to move the boxes and the furniture to the garage, then on Monday we will thoroughly clean the place.
 
 Our new house will not be ready for a few weeks yet. So we will be living in Jacob's apartment in Old Mesilla for that time.  The house is looking good, though.  The stucco is done.  The tile floors are pretty much done.  The kitchen cabinets are nearly finished.  The interior has been painted.  The fireplace is done. Still to do: the rest of the tile, the carpeting, the rest of the cabinets, the granite counter tops, and all the plumbing fixtures. And lastly, the exterior tile, driveway, and partial landscaping.
 
My hope is that this will be our last move.
 
Living in the midst of transition points to the truth that nothing is certain and nothing lasts forever: we are always changing. Its just that the pace of the change is normally quite slow.  But life transitions like moving, marriage, divorce, these are in your face fast. Unmistakable. We see that what we thought of as solid is not really.  Its a facade we erect to create an illusion of stability.  We all "know" that life itself is change, but how often are we living its truth?
 
Zen practice, the practice of serene reflection meditation, is a practice that considers change the very basis of life. We contemplate in stillness to realize there is no stillness, only to awaken in universal stillness. Its like finally realizing in Big Mind, there is no motion. Motion, itself, is a Small Mind phenomenon. 
 
The so what of this is a centered acceptance of life as it actually is, changing, evolving, deveploping. There is nothing to hold on to and no reason to hold on.
 
Let go. Enjoy.
 
Be well.
religion
1,924 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

My best wishes for a happy, stressfree move into your new home which from by your description seems lovely and comfortable.

 

 

The so what of this is a centered acceptance of life as it actually is, changing, evolving, deveploping. There is nothing to hold on to and no reason to hold on.
End of quote

How about striving for happiness, cheerfulness, giving of yourself as in listening, affection, laughter, complimenting another, doing favors? Aren't good dispositions something to hold on to...or anything that is good for that matter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

How about striving for happiness, cheerfulness, giving of yourself as in listening, affection, laughter, complimenting another, doing favors? Aren't good dispositions something to hold on to...or anything that is good for that matter?
End of quote

 

Hi Lula!

Thank you for your wel wishes.  As to the quote above, its sort of like holding onto an ice cube on a very hot, very sunny day.  Its notthat good attitudes, feelings, and the like aren't of value, but thsat they are, by nature, transient.  To try to keep them is a recipe for suffering.

Be well.

 

The Political Machine 2024
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Hi SoDaiho,

How about striving for happiness, cheerfulness, giving of yourself as in listening, affection, laughter, complimenting another, doing favors? Aren't good dispositions something to hold on to...or anything that is good for that matter?
End of quote


Its notthat good attitudes, feelings, and the like aren't of value, but thsat they are, by nature, transient. To try to keep them is a recipe for suffering.
End of quote


You have lost me on this one....perhaps you have a completely different definition and understanding of suffering. How possibly can good attitudes be a recipe for suffering?



Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

You have lost me on this one....perhaps you have a completely different definition and understanding of suffering. How possibly can good attitudes be a recipe for suffering?
End of quote

Hi Lula,

 

Its not the things themselves that causes the suffering, per se (although, I will say that perpetually feeling happy might get a tad tiresome over time).  Its the trying to keep what is impermanent, that ice cube on a very hot day, that is the cause.   

 

I hope this helps.

 

Be well.

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
The so what of this is a centered acceptance of life as it actually is, changing, evolving, deveploping. There is nothing to hold on to and no reason to hold on.
End of quote


Love is the answer..the reason for everything. God is love.