“Ten Lessons from a Temporary World or The Illusion of Permanence”
I’ve been up since 3:00 a.m. My mind has been wandering, it seemed, without a place to rest itself. I couldn’t go back to sleep. As my mind was processing many things and ideas simultaneously, reflecting on the “uncertainty” of “all” things, and the “uncertainty” of life itself, I wrote the following ten propositions that are critical of the human (our) quest and desparation for permanence, stability, and coherence in this changing world.
Perhaps, one of the most honest truths about life itself is “the reality of impermanence,” and the human (our) quest for eternity—core elements of the human condition, relationships, and experience in this world—in a fleeting world.
“Lessons from a Temporary World or The Illusion of Permanence”
- Sexual or physical pleasure is a temporary joy. It is a brief flame, flickering, and vanishing with time.
- Life in this world is a temporary experience, a passing moment wrapped in years.
- Children born from your body will grow, depart, and walk paths without you.
- Your memories of loved ones will fade and ultimately depart when you die.
- The career or education you devoted years to will one day no longer be accessible to you as age weakens the body and silences (human) strength.
- Material things, once treasured, such as a beautiful house, an expensive car, a prized watch, will one day rust, lose their value, and eventually decline.
- The body you build and discipline through regular exercise and dietary contol remains vulnerable to strain, sickness, and death.
- Marriage is not guaranteed to be permanent; a spouse may leave or die by illness or natural cause.
- Happiness and joy, though deeply sought, offer only a fleeting sense of delight in this world. They can only be experienced once in a lifetime, but do not remain.
- The pursuit of freedom and safety holds meaning only while we live; death reframes their existential purpose.
drcelucienjoseph, "Thinking and Meditating" 