Tags
Change, Forgiveness, Growth, Guru, Impasse, Nothing’s ever the same, Water under the bridge, Where to?
We say – it’s not the same as it used to be – or – it’ll never be the same again – about stuff we don’t like. Rarely do we say it about anything that makes us happy, right?
But actually nothing is ever, in fact, quite the same.
You’re not the same as you were yesterday – a gazillion cells in your body have died and been replaced (or not), the day is a different day, everything has grown or decayed just a little more, it’s a little older (never younger) or more decrepit, things move closer together or further apart, or something’s been completed.
Nothing is ever the same.
A little while back I pulled a quote out from a recorded lecture by my Guru. Soon as I heard it, bells rang and I quickly wrote it down, then tweeted it. Then wrote it here. But it rings truer and truer all the time.
Things don’t get better, they just get different.
Right. Different. Last week was different, and this week again, is very different.
So, things are different all the time. But they don’t have to be totally different, do they? I mean, they can be. But they don’t have to be…
Which brings me to these questions… Where do we go from here? How do we break this impasse? Can we get to that point of water under the bridge?
Of course, eventually it will be (water under the bridge) but what kind of water?
Nothing is ever the same, but that can be a good thing, too.
At least, that’s what I’m hoping. Let’s not give up, okay?
~Svasti
Svasti: A Journey From Assault To Wholeness 
Svasti … I recall Pema Chodron’s words, “Impermanence protects us.” At first, I thought, “Huh…?” — but Pema drove home the point that you write of here … that *nothing* remains the same … including the horrible times. I’ve had to keep reminding myself of this … I’ve come to think of emotional states as weather systems … and I constantly tell myself, “All weather eventually passes …” It’s become a kind of discipline, this reminding …
I love what you wrote about water under the bridge –> “what kind of water?” What a great question …
It’s in noticing these things — like what kind of water we’ve got under our bridges (so to speak) — that we help ourselves along, to admit to movement even when we think we are utterly paralyzed. Thinking in this way and asking questions that are out of the ordinary shift the perspective, don’t they …
Bless xo
Why do I get the feeling this post is directed at a specific audience? Even so, you do bring up some great points. I’m glad to see the darkness that colored several of your posts recently, seems to have lifted some. My money’s still on you Svasti. You’ll pull through all of this stronger than before.
Svasti,
That statement is starkly eloquent, I think–“things don’t get better, they just get different.”
Although I think things doget better and of course they do get worse–but one thing is very true–they always change.
Life is about change–and it should be about change. My quest (anyway) is to live each day in a better way than I lived the previous one and from every mistake I make, to try to learn and grow from it. I was most self-destructive when my life was stagnant.
My sister has a saying, “the key to happiness is to lower our expectations” and to a certain degree, I really feel this is true! If we go into any situation (such as a new relationship, new job, new experience) without pinning our hopes on it so completely, then I think we are likely to enjoy it more and get more out of it! I have had the best experiences when I have been taken by surprise!
Okay–I think I’ve rambled along here enough. I have been meaning to stop by–the BAT made an appearance, throwing my life into a complete tizzy the last several days! YIKES!
Melinda
I agree ~ I have a quote from the philosopher Butler
“Life is Growth, is Change”
Sometimes I have felt trapped in a situation or pattern and felt that is would last forever. Looking back, I see how things changed – sometimes for the better, sometimes worse…but always change (thank goodness)
xhenry
@Jaliya – I get that Pema Chodron quote, I do!
@tricia – Though most people never notice, much of what I write could be said to be directed at a particular audience. Sometimes that audience is just me, or an imaginary person I’m talking to, or to someone in my life. Or none of the above. Hope that’s not too confusing?
@Melinda – I tend to think of ‘better’ or ‘worse’ as subjective value judgements. What’s better for one person, may very well be worse for another. So, in the end, things are only ever different than they were, due to the passing of time. To wax even more philosophically, its possible to say, at the very same time, that nothing ever changes. Which, is probably taking things a little too far for my little blog. Ah well!
But what you have to say about expectations is true – they are a projection onto a thing, person or situation. And when your expectations aren’t met, you think it has something to do with that thing, person or situation. But it doesn’t, its just your own self-created story.
I’m glad you survived the visit of your bat in one piece!
@soulMerlin – Hey Henry, it is hard to remember when in the midst of a certain situation, that yeah, nothing last forever. But with enough life experience, we see that’s true. Doesn’t stop us for the most part, getting all freaked out when in the middle of something unpleasant, does it?
A attitude that shall define life for the good. lethargy has been and will always creep in our lives to kill us. what you have cited here is the spirit to go beyond, though not directly from the words–it was the pith that I could see through.
Changes are good-they make life what it is. or else there would have been nothing..
you’re a magician with words, i must say 🙂
@Rajat – Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving such thoughtful comments! Yes, changes are good, but its often our fear of change that makes them feel so awful. If we can get beyond that, each and every time, then we’re doing okay…
Hi Svasti! Nothing is the only thing that stays the same. The way I see life and change is as a journey. I may have little destinations along the way but it is the ever-evolving journey that I enjoy most . After all the years of philosophical contemplation attempting to unlock some profound secret, I realized that commanding my own life, truly living my own journey, accepting the flux of change and loving life might sound simplistic, but it’s truth. The plain unadorned truth 🙂