“If we let go of the fear that nothing is permanent, we begin to see that it is precisely this impermanence that makes every moment of life interesting and precious.”
If we deeply absorb this one thought, our entire perspective on life can change.
Let us pause for a moment and quietly ask ourselves: where do most of our fears come from?
The fear of what tomorrow may bring.
The fear that people we love may leave us.
The fear that the comforts we have today may not be there tomorrow.
The fear that our health may change.
The fear of losing money.
The fear of losing our job.
The fear that other people's opinion of us may change.
If we go beneath all these fears, we may discover that there is one common thought behind most of them:
“What I have now should remain exactly the same forever.”
But life was never designed that way.
Change is the very nature of life.
When morning arrives, night will follow.
When spring comes, summer will come.
When a flower blooms, one day it will wither.
A child grows into a young person.
A young person moves towards old age.
Our bodies are changing every single day.
Our thoughts change.
Our relationships change.
Our circumstances change.
Whether we like it or not, change continues to travel with us throughout our lives.
Therefore, understanding impermanence is not a reason to hate life.
On the contrary, it is an opportunity to love life more deeply.
If we know that a flower will not remain in bloom forever, would we not appreciate its brief moment of beauty even more?
Parents who understand that their child's childhood will not last forever will cherish the child's little mischiefs, laughter and innocent moments even more lovingly.
When we know that there is no guarantee that a person we love will remain with us throughout our entire life, we learn to value the day we have with them today.
So impermanence does not take away the happiness of life.
It teaches us the value of happiness.
Many times, we run after happiness.
“We will be happy after we achieve this.”
“We will be happy after we have accumulated this much money.”
“We will be peaceful after this problem is over.”
But life does not wait for us.
By the time we reach the future we were waiting for, that future has already become the present.
And once again, we begin running towards another future.
If we spend our entire lives searching for “what comes next,” we may forget that the only moment actually available to us is now.
One of the greatest truths spirituality teaches us is this:
Live this moment completely.
That does not mean we have to leave worldly life and go into a forest.
We can live with our families.
We can go to work.
We can raise our children.
We can earn money.
We can build a home.
We can participate in society.
We can spend time with friends.
We can laugh and enjoy ourselves.
None of these things are contrary to spirituality.
In fact, the more important spiritual question is:
With what state of mind are we doing all these things?
A mother raising her child with love can be spiritual.
A father working honestly for his family can be spiritual.
A worker doing his job sincerely can be spiritual.
A businessperson who does not cheat in measurement or quantity can be spiritual.
A person extending a helping hand to someone they do not even know can be spiritual.
Caring patiently for ageing parents can be spiritual.
Refusing to do something wrong even when nobody is watching can be spiritual.
When we are angry, choosing to remain silent rather than immediately hurting someone with our words can itself be a spiritual practice.
Therefore, spirituality is not something that can be practised only by going to a particular place.
The way we live our lives itself can become spiritual.
Going to a temple is spiritual.
But returning from the temple and refusing to cheat another person is also spiritual.
Meditating is spiritual.
But speaking lovingly to the people at home after meditation is also spiritual.
Reciting a mantra is spiritual.
But making sure that words causing pain do not come from our tongue is also spiritual.
Worshipping God is spiritual.
But respecting the human beings created by God is also spiritual.
This is where the true beauty of spirituality lies.
Spirituality is not an escape from life.
It is understanding life and living it with awareness.
A person who understands impermanence gradually loosens their grip on life.
This does not mean that they stop loving.
On the contrary, they begin to love more purely.
They move from the possessive form of love that says,
“You belong to me,”
to the beautiful form of love that says,
“I value every moment that you are with me.”
That is the difference between attachment and love.
Attachment says:
“You must always be there for me.”
Love says:
“I value every moment that you are with me.”
When we understand impermanence, forgiveness also becomes easier.
Because we begin to realise how short life really is.
Someone who laughed with us yesterday may not be with us today.
Someone who seemed like an enemy yesterday may become a good friend tomorrow.
An event that made us cry yesterday may, years later, appear as an important lesson in our life.
This is the strange and beautiful nature of life.
Nothing remains in exactly the same state.
Therefore, do not assume that today's sorrow will last forever.
The failure you experience today is not the verdict on your entire life.
The pain you are experiencing today is not the final chapter of your life.
A door may be closed today.
Another door may open tomorrow.
That is why hope is essential.
But there is a difference between hope and blind expectation.
“Everything must happen exactly as I want” is expectation.
“Whatever happens, I will face it, learn from it and move forward” is spiritual faith.
Life will not always happen according to our plans.
But every experience life gives us has the potential to teach us something.
Some people teach us love.
Some teach us patience.
Some teach us how we should never treat another person.
Some failures teach us humility.
Some successes give us confidence.
Some losses reveal the true value of life.
Therefore, instead of constantly asking,
“Why me?”
we can begin asking,
“What am I meant to learn from this?”
When we do that, life slowly becomes a spiritual school.
And we are all students in that school.
Growing older does not automatically make anyone completely wise.
Our experiences may increase.
But life continues to give us new lessons.
We are still learning today.
We will continue learning tomorrow.
That itself is the beauty of life.
A person who understands impermanence will use material possessions.
But they will not allow possessions to control them.
They will earn money, but they will not believe that money is the measure of life.
They may gain fame, but they know that fame is not permanent.
They may hold positions of authority, but they remember that authority will not last forever.
A young person will remember that old age will come.
An older person will not remain trapped in the past, but will try to make today's life meaningful.
That is balance.
Spirituality is not abandoning the world.
Living in the world while understanding its impermanent nature and remaining conscious within it—that is a higher form of spirituality.
The seeds of spirituality are present in the small actions we perform every day.
Being grateful when we wake up in the morning.
Not wasting food.
Respecting water.
Speaking lovingly to our parents.
Respecting our partner's feelings.
Being patient with our children.
Not neglecting elderly people.
Correcting someone's mistake privately rather than exposing it before everyone.
Helping someone without expecting anything in return.
Speaking the truth.
Respecting other people's rights.
When jealousy arises, recognising it without allowing it to cause harm to another person.
When anger arises, pausing for a while instead of responding immediately.
These may appear to be ordinary acts of daily life.
But within them lies a profound spiritual discipline.
Spirituality is not an ornament that decorates life; it is a discipline that purifies life.
More important than how much we meditate is how much more compassionate we become after meditation.
More important than how many books we have read is how much of what we have learned we have actually put into practice.
More important than how many times we have remembered God is how lovingly we have treated the living beings created by God.
That is why the spiritual path is completely open even to someone living an ordinary family life.
You do not need a secluded mountain.
You do not need a great ashram.
You do not need to run away from the world.
Your home can be your first ashram.
Your family can be your first spiritual school.
The people who live with you can be your first teachers.
Your anger can be your first lesson.
Your impatience can be your first practice.
Your love can be your first meditation.
Your honesty can be your first form of worship.
Your service can be your first prayer.
When we look at life this way, spirituality is not something we have to search for outside life.
It is an awareness that has to awaken within life itself.
After understanding impermanence, one important thing needs to change in our lives.
Do we really need to carry unnecessary anger with us?
Should we allow something that happened many years ago to make today's life bitter?
Should we postpone telling someone a loving word until tomorrow?
When we are capable of forgiving, should we continue carrying the burden in our hearts?
Knowing that the time we have is slowly diminishing, should we lose relationships over small matters?
Impermanence reminds us of all these things.
“Time is passing. Wake up.”
That is what life quietly tells us.
Therefore, thinking about impermanence is not a sad way of looking at life.
It is an awakening.
The day you have today will never come again.
The sunrise you saw today will never return in exactly the same way.
The conversation you had today with someone will never happen again in precisely the same form.
The age you are at today will never return.
Then why not live today fully?
Why not speak lovingly?
Why not be grateful?
Why not make the mind lighter?
Why not, as far as possible, become a little light in someone else's life?
A person who understands impermanence does not hold on to life with a tight grip.
They experience life.
They laugh.
They cry.
They fail.
They rise again.
They love.
They lose.
They discover love again.
They see a lesson in every experience.
That is spiritual maturity.
Ultimately, there is one thing we need to understand.
Impermanence is not a flaw in life; it is the very nature of life.
If everything remained permanent, no moment would have its own special value.
If a flower remained in bloom forever, we might stop appreciating its blooming.
If the sun rose endlessly without ever setting, we might not understand the beauty of a single dawn.
If human life continued forever, perhaps we would not feel the value of a meeting or the meaning of an embrace so deeply.
It is often the presence of an ending that creates value.
So do not be afraid because “nothing is permanent.”
Instead, try thinking:
“Because nothing is permanent, this moment is precious.”
Then our perspective on life changes.
Instead of living in fear of the future, we begin to recognise the preciousness of the present.
We value what we have.
We value those who are with us.
We value the opportunities we have been given.
We do the good we can without unnecessary delay.
We forgive those whom we are capable of forgiving.
We love those whom we are capable of loving.
We help those whom we are capable of helping.
When we live this way, each day becomes a spiritual day.
Then spirituality exists at the entrance of the temple.
It exists at the entrance of our home.
It exists in the meditation room.
It exists in the kitchen.
It exists in the office.
It exists during a bus journey.
It exists in the time spent talking with a friend.
It exists even in that small moment when we help a stranger.
Because spirituality is not about where we are.
It is about how we are.
Accepting impermanence,
living today with gratitude,
nurturing relationships with love,
protecting truth with integrity,
causing no harm to others,
doing as much good as we can,
and gradually purifying our minds day by day—
that itself is a profound spiritual journey.
We do not know how many days life has been given to us.
But we can decide how meaningful we will make each day we have been given.
Not knowing what tomorrow will bring is not something to fear.
That is the beauty of life.
Because we do not know what the next moment will bring, every moment is new.
So do not lose today while carrying guilt about the past and fear about the future.
The past is a lesson.
The future is an opportunity.
The present is a gift.
Let us open that gift fully and experience it.
Nothing is permanent.
And that is precisely why
this moment is precious.
This life is precious.
These relationships are precious.
This breath is precious.
This day is precious.
This very moment is precious.
Let us not be afraid of impermanence.
Let us awaken to its beauty.
Let us live this journey that life has given us with love, integrity, awareness and gratitude.
That is spirituality.
That is a higher way of living a family life.
That is the true success of human life.
You can do it.
With love,
Sakthi Sakthithasan
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