The Here And Now

The sun sets today to rise again tomorrow and the moon has to come out every night. Flowers bloom and then wither away. The yellow bananas all turn swiftly black. Everything that is born in this world dies. All that surrounds us, regardless of how long it’s been here, will eventually turn to dust. So, when David Bowie sang “Ashes to Ashes” he was quite right.

This natural law of impermanence includes the meat suit you are currently wearing. If you are in India, your particular meat suit’s expiration date is around 66.21 years – not 100 as perpetuated by the ‘Sau Saal jiyo’ (live a 100 years) blessings from your grandmother.

This realization of mortality and impermanence usually leads me to sigh and say “life is too short” then go back to distracting myself with daily chores. But some days, I meditate for a moment on that fact.

I’m going to die. We all are. The things around me are temporary. They all are. That building I can see from my kitchen window, the car I drive, my dogs, my family – they will all go, including me. Even the way I feel right now, happy or sad, is a momentary feeling.

I don’t hate that boss from 2011 anymore, I don’t crush on Kit Harrington like I used to and I’m certainly not going to love hoarding distressed denim in 2018. There is no use denying or avoiding it – if anything, it’s empowering to know that everything is temporary.

I’m trying to embrace the limitations that being mortal gives me, figuring out the exact kind of life I want to live so I have minimal regrets—and going for it. There’s nothing holding me back when I try to embrace impermanence. Well, at least this is my ‘temporary’ state of mind today.

What is your idea of a perfect life or perfect death? Mine is to be able to have a bubble bath everyday and die a sudden death in my sleep. Tell me yours. Comment.