impermanence archivos - The Resilient Human Project

The bitter-sweet reality of impermanence

Recently my life seems to be mostly aircraft, airports, hotels and taxis. I love sleeping in my own bed. If Rhea is there also, then it is perfect. I sat there in the hotel restaurant eating breakfast. It is with no great pride that I admit that I felt a little sorry for myself, wishing I could breakfast at home. As I sat there a couple walked past, close by the table where I sat, well into their 80’s – frail but capable. The thought sprung to mind that twenty-five years or so on and that will be us: Rhea and me. It also brought to mind what Buddhists call…

Your mind is like a vegetable patch

Between the ages of 10 and 14 I was, amongst other things, an altar boy. I did this mostly to get the approval of the nuns and priests of the children’s homes I lived in. It also gave me a sense of being holier than the other boys, a balm for the pain of a damaged ego. Later, in 1981, I went to a weekend workshop where I first encountered the “alternative” or “spiritual” world. It was a mind-blowing experience. However, in my deep ignorance and insecurity I used my discoveries in the same way as that altar boy. This discovery created an amazing range of new possibilities for my…

Grief and Impermanence

People attend our retreats in Cantabria for many reasons. One of the more common reasons is to come to terms with the loss of a loved one. In our society our experience of death is quite limited, so when it comes, it comes as a shocking, painful surprise. Unfortunately, we don’t generally talk about death. We receive no training and we do our best not to think about it which means it always catches us unprepared. The Buddha said that life contains inevitable suffering: birth, sickness, old age and death. None of us can avoid these events; they are as inevitable as the sunrise, as breathing. In this we are…

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