going with the flow on the river change

Change is inevitable; it's happening all the time whether we like it or not. One of the Buddha's main teachings was of impermanence (the Pali word is "anicca," pronounced a-nee-cha) --the fact that every single thing, from a bodily sensation to an emotion to a mood or feeling or relationship--everything is impermanent. Everything ends. But instead of getting down about this fact of nature, we can view it as a blessing. It gives us a plethora of opportunities to appreciate each fleeting moment.

Human nature tends to get in the way though. We want things to stay the same when they're good. We cling to whatever feelings of happiness and pleasure we feel "lucky" enough to have from time to time. We push away bad things, the ugly and unpleasant, the dreadful and disturbing. We strive and struggle to retain our semblance of control.

But in truth, control is an illusion. We can intend, achieve and dream, sure. And well we should. At the same time, we must let go of attachment to the idea that things need to be a certain way. Dropping the incessant identification with ego, the ego that loves to judge ourselves and others with negativity.

In her very eloquent blog, a fellow yoga teacher named Sanieh who I met at the Vipassana retreat recently wrote, "My time at the 10-day silent course taught me that it is our attachment and our aversion to these things that cause our suffering. We try to give that power to anything and everything but ourselves and for as much as we blame and try to make it about all things outside of ourselves; it really comes down to these two elements. Our attachment and our aversion to circumstances, people, and material "things", IS the cause of our own suffering. IF we know this, then why in the heck is it so very difficult in the eye of the storm to sit and be still through it all?"

Good question. I know the answer, in theory. Sometimes even in practice. But all too often, I forget these principles and get a little lost in the maze of my monkey mind. So all I can do is simply notice. Notice that I've forgotten, and remember! Notice my own cravings and aversions and do my best not to indulge in them. Simply notice. Again and again. Because it's not about elimination of the habits nearly as much as the gradual elimination of our own reactions to them.