Goodbyes. . .
Every meeting contains a goodbye.
Every beginning already carries the quiet truth of change. The house where children grow up will someday become silent. The friends we see regularly may eventually scatter into different lives. The body that carries us through the world will change and the people we love will age.
So will we.
Buddhism asks us to look directly at impermanence, not to make life darker, but to make life more precious. When we believe things will last forever, we become careless.
We postpone gratitude and rush conversations. We allow small disagreements to steal large pieces of time and we assume there will always be another visit, another summer, or another opportunity to say what matters. But when we understand impermanence, something inside us can awaken.
We begin holding life differently.
More gently, more attentively. We forgive sooner, listen longer and become less interested in winning every argument. We take photographs, but we also remember to put the camera down. We realize that the ordinary moment unfolding before us is already disappearing.
This does not mean we should live with constant sadness – quite the opposite. Impermanence is what gives life its tenderness. A flower is beautiful because it blooms briefly. A sunset matters because the light is leaving. A human life is precious because it cannot be repeated. We are all walking beside one another for a little while.
Parents, partners, friends, children and strangers. Even the person we see in the mirror.
Perhaps the deepest practice is learning to love without pretending anything belongs to us forever, so be present, be kind and say what matters. Forgive what you can. We are all saying goodbye slowly. And that is exactly why we should learn to say hello with our whole heart.
Peace and Love, Jim
#goodbyes #thedailybuddha #tdb
