Permanently impermanent

Most of have heard the word impermanence. The name itself gives away its meaning. I’m going to take this down a different road for now.

If you examine the Buddhist concept of impermanence, it doesn’t stray far from what most understand. Impermanence can be found everywhere, in seasons; of nature & in our lives. So if things don’t go our way, especially when it comes to transitioning a body, why do we label ourselves failures by the barometer of a scale? Or a numeric size sewn in a dress or a pair of pants?

I’m sure you know where I’m going with this. But can you remember this, when you see the scale waver in a direction you don’t like? If your lab values such as cholesterol, blood sugar, A1C are not “where they should be?” If you’re told your BP is “going in the wrong direction?” Yes all these scenarios are impermanent. How do you cope in the meantime? The concept of impermanence doesn’t necessarily suffice in the immediate as we might like.

If we look at the relationships which mean the most in our lives, do we weigh them? Put them to the test? If we could put them on a scale, how would they measure up day to day? Would we find fluctuations in how we relate to those we love? How they relate to us? Of course we would.

Then why can’t we accept our own fluctuations? Not only in body, but in mindset?

I once heard it said, we must get over this insanity called health. Does this mean we don’t watch what we eat, or skip our exercise routine? Throw away prescribed medication? No, & that’s not what I’m preaching here.

But like our relationships with ourselves & others, the inanity & insanity repeats & rebuilds itself every time we are unable to accept fluctuation or conditions which will change.

Are you struggling with weight? Tried every diet known to woman or man? Finding your cholesterol or blood pressure beyond a challenge to drop? What about your blood sugar?

While these are important to keep in check, what’s more important is how you relate to them. These numbers on a scale or chart are just that; they are numeric values. They mean nothing & are nothing, until we firmly take them in hand. Not so much to change them, but to effect change in our lives. Let the loss of 10 lbs or a decrease in BP be the “added things,” as your mindset shifts. Weight like lab values will find temperament & may even defy explanation, once there is a change in your consciousness. How DOES THAT happen? The answer is different for everyone. No one size fits all here.

My appetite underwent a shift a couple of years ago. Perhaps because of what I experienced at the time. Your journey is individual. It will fluctuate, change course, know its peak & valley moments. But in that moment of failure, triumph, or anything betwixt & between, what will not change is the very essence of who you are. That is untouchable, unknown to anyone even yourself; unless you have taken to that road called self-discovery. And once self-discovery becomes self-mastery, the ebb & flow of how we perceive health will find new meaning for us. I liken it to the raging rapids we encounter in one part of a river, only to give way to the serenity of what lies downstream. Later we encounter the waterfall or the rougher terrain again. But it won’t be that way for long. For better or worse, only impermanence is permanent.

All for now. Keep up & keep at it.

Questions? Comments? Contact me at serrenity.c@gmail.com