HEALTH
Health is wellness of the body, the mind, and the soul; their alignment with one another is the art of living well.
and
TIPS
WISDOM
Wisdom is understanding of the self, others, and the nature of things; it is essential to living as if everything is a miracle.
NOTHING IS EVERYTHING
“Nothing is everything” is a paradox. In life, there are many paradoxes. The way of paradoxes is the way of attaining the ultimate truths of anything and everything. Knowing and understanding a paradox requires wisdom to see different human perspectives in anything and everything.
Paradoxes may be the way to wisdom, to the miracle of life, and ultimately to enlightenment.
An illustration
Christopher Paul Gardner, an American author, enrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, was very poor and homeless in the early 1980s. Sleeping on the floor of a public toilet, Gardner never dreamt that he would become a multi-millionaire one day. His inspiring life story was made into a hit Hollywood movie: “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Gardner was brought up with the belief that he could do or be anything that he wanted to do or be. At some point in his life, he was homeless; everything seemed nothing, just emptiness and nothingness, to him. But he was not hopeless. He continued to dream of wealth and success, and his dreams were not mirages. Because of his right doing and right thinking, he made his dreams come true.
Initially, Gardner made his living by selling medical equipment. He did not make enough money to make both ends meet, and his poverty made him homeless for a year.
Then, one day, Gardner met a stockbroker in a red Ferrari, who offered him internship because of his incredible drive and sustained enthusiasm. Thus he began his successful investment career, and he subsequently opened his own investment firm, Gardner Rich & Company
More than two decades later, after the death of his wife, who challenged him to find his true happiness and fulfilment in the remainder of his life, Gardner made a complete career change. He was suddenly awakened to the notion that his fame, success, and wealth seemed like nothing to him then. His feeling of nothingness transformed him completely: he then became a philanthropist and a motivation speaker traveling around the world, focusing not on his own wealth, but on humanity and the needs of others to pursue their happiness.
According to Gardner, life journey is always a process of lesson learning and forward moving: “People often ask me would I trade anything from my past, and I quickly tell them no, because my past helped to make me into the person I am today.” Yes, nothingness could be everything to him.
On any life journey, mental focus is essential: focusing not just on the big things in life but also on the small things as well; appreciating what you have, rather than dwelling on what is your nothingness.
What seems to be nothingness in the eyes of the world, when properly valued and put to use, can become anything and everything in the eyes of the beholder. Gardner turned his nothingness into great wealth. His ultimate enlightenment came when he looked at his own wealth in a different perspective-as no more than just nothingness-when he began to refocus his life goals on humanity and on inspiring others to become who they really are.
The bottom line: with wisdom you may know and understand the “nothing is everything” paradox that opens the door to self-enlightenment.
The above is taken from the book Anything Is Everything, Everything Is Nothing, Nothing Is Everything.
To fully understand the paradoxes of life, you need profound wisdom: Tao wisdom, which is the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China more than three thousand six hundred years ago; and the spiritual wisdom from the Bible.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing Is Everything.
Click here to go back to Home Page.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
“Nothing is everything” is a paradox. In life, there are many paradoxes. The way of paradoxes is the way of attaining the ultimate truths of anything and everything. Knowing and understanding a paradox requires wisdom to see different human perspectives in anything and everything.
Paradoxes may be the way to wisdom, to the miracle of life, and ultimately to enlightenment.
An illustration
Christopher Paul Gardner, an American author, enrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, was very poor and homeless in the early 1980s. Sleeping on the floor of a public toilet, Gardner never dreamt that he would become a multi-millionaire one day. His inspiring life story was made into a hit Hollywood movie: “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
Gardner was brought up with the belief that he could do or be anything that he wanted to do or be. At some point in his life, he was homeless; everything seemed nothing, just emptiness and nothingness, to him. But he was not hopeless. He continued to dream of wealth and success, and his dreams were not mirages. Because of his right doing and right thinking, he made his dreams come true.
Initially, Gardner made his living by selling medical equipment. He did not make enough money to make both ends meet, and his poverty made him homeless for a year.
Then, one day, Gardner met a stockbroker in a red Ferrari, who offered him internship because of his incredible drive and sustained enthusiasm. Thus he began his successful investment career, and he subsequently opened his own investment firm, Gardner Rich & Company
More than two decades later, after the death of his wife, who challenged him to find his true happiness and fulfilment in the remainder of his life, Gardner made a complete career change. He was suddenly awakened to the notion that his fame, success, and wealth seemed like nothing to him then. His feeling of nothingness transformed him completely: he then became a philanthropist and a motivation speaker traveling around the world, focusing not on his own wealth, but on humanity and the needs of others to pursue their happiness.
According to Gardner, life journey is always a process of lesson learning and forward moving: “People often ask me would I trade anything from my past, and I quickly tell them no, because my past helped to make me into the person I am today.” Yes, nothingness could be everything to him.
On any life journey, mental focus is essential: focusing not just on the big things in life but also on the small things as well; appreciating what you have, rather than dwelling on what is your nothingness.
What seems to be nothingness in the eyes of the world, when properly valued and put to use, can become anything and everything in the eyes of the beholder. Gardner turned his nothingness into great wealth. His ultimate enlightenment came when he looked at his own wealth in a different perspective-as no more than just nothingness-when he began to refocus his life goals on humanity and on inspiring others to become who they really are.
The bottom line: with wisdom you may know and understand the “nothing is everything” paradox that opens the door to self-enlightenment.
The above is taken from the book Anything Is Everything, Everything Is Nothing, Nothing Is Everything.
To fully understand the paradoxes of life, you need profound wisdom: Tao wisdom, which is the wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China more than three thousand six hundred years ago; and the spiritual wisdom from the Bible.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing Is Everything.
Click here to go back to Home Page.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
HEALTH
Health is wellness of the body, the mind, and the soul; their alignment with one another is the art of living well.
and
TIPS
WISDOM
Wisdom is understanding of the self, others, and the nature of things; it is essential to living as if everything is a miracle.
LAO TZU 'S WISDOM QUOTES
"Simplicity is clarity.
It is a blessing to learn from those
with humble simplicity.
Those with an empty mind
will learn to find the Way.
The Way reveals the secrets of the universe:
the mysteries of the realm of creation;
the manifestations of all things created.
The essence of the Way is to show us
how to live in fullness and return to our origin."
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 65)
Simplicity is the first step towards detachment, which is the key to unlocking the door to happiness. Live a simple lifestyle, deleting all the trimmings of life and living.
Attachment to all the trimmings of life and living boosts the ego, leading to pride, which is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Humility, the opposite of pride, holds the key to having a good relationship with the Creator, without which, there is no enlightenment, and hence no wisdom to the secrets of the universe and the mysteries of the realm of creation-the manifestations of all things created.
****************************************************************
"watchful, like a man crossing a winter stream;
alert, like a man aware of danger;
courteous, like a visiting guest;
yielding, like ice about to melt;
simple, like a piece of uncarved wood;
hollow, like a cave;
opaque, like muddy water."
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 15)
Mindfulness is mental sharpness to know what is happening in the mind that brings about clarity of thinking, which is essential to human wisdom.
There is a close connection between the body and the mind. This body-mind connection in humans affects both the physical and the mental health of an individual, especially how that individual thinks and reacts. It is important to put the mind where the body is. For example, your body is now here-reading this book. But your mind may be somewhere else: your mind may be preoccupied with thoughts of the past, the present, or even the future. In other words, your mind may be rambling and disconnected, although you may not be aware of it. A chaotic mind produces adverse and detrimental biological and chemical changes, such as the production of stress hormones, and the reduction of human growth hormone (HGH), among others, that may accelerate the aging process in both the body and the mind.
Mindfulness begins with the body. Becoming mindful of your body in the present moment is putting your mind where your body is. This produces deep relaxation of both the body and mind-an essential element for clarity of thinking that may be the pathway to attaining true human wisdom.
The bottom line: Be watchful as if you were crossing a winter stream, fully aware of what is happening in the present moment.
****************************************************************
"Living in the present moment,
we find natural contentment.
We do not seek a faster lifestyle,
or a better place to be.
We need the essentials of life,
not its extra trimmings." Lao Tzu
Living in the present is an awakening to the realities of all things. That all things follow a natural cycle or order, which is beyond human control. Living in the present affords us an opportunity to look more objectively at any given situation, allowing our minds to think more clearly, to separate the truths from the half-truths that might have led us astray all along.
According to Lao Tzu, only the present is real: the past was gone, and the future is uncertain and unpredictable. When the mind stays in the present, it does not see the ego-self because it does not exist in the present, and only in the deceptive mind.
****************************************************************
“The Way is easy to find and follow:
empty the mind of conditioned thinking
of seeing things and doing things." Lao Tzu
The Way is the way to profound human wisdom. It is simple and easy to find. But why is it that so few people find it?
It is already innate in each one of us, but we need to look inside ourselves with an empty mind. But, instead, many of us just look outside, and we think with a close mind.
****************************************************************
"The Way to the Creator has no blueprint.
With faith and humility, we seek neither pride nor blame.
Our actions then become righteous and impeccable.
Our lives are illumined with the Creator’s light." Lao Tzu
To become enlightened, we must trust and obey, which is the only way to the Creator. If you want everything your way, there is no way! In other words, let go of your pride, and live with humility.
****************************************************************
"The softest thing in the world
overcomes what seems to be the hardest.
That which has no form
penetrates what seems to be impenetrable." Lao Tzu
An empty mindset is the opposite of a pre-conditioned mindset. Many of us may presume that what is hard is always strong and tough, but water, which is soft and formless, can be very strong and overwhelming.
****************************************************************
“Letting go of control,
we no longer strive and struggle.
Without strife and struggle,
there is no resistance.
Without resistance,
there is no suffering." Lao Tzu
Letting go is one of the essentials of Tao wisdom. Learn to let go of your material attachments in the physical world, your emotional attachments in the form of anger, remorse, and revenge, and your future attachments in dreams and expectations.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
"Simplicity is clarity.
It is a blessing to learn from those
with humble simplicity.
Those with an empty mind
will learn to find the Way.
The Way reveals the secrets of the universe:
the mysteries of the realm of creation;
the manifestations of all things created.
The essence of the Way is to show us
how to live in fullness and return to our origin."
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 65)
Simplicity is the first step towards detachment, which is the key to unlocking the door to happiness. Live a simple lifestyle, deleting all the trimmings of life and living.
Attachment to all the trimmings of life and living boosts the ego, leading to pride, which is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Humility, the opposite of pride, holds the key to having a good relationship with the Creator, without which, there is no enlightenment, and hence no wisdom to the secrets of the universe and the mysteries of the realm of creation-the manifestations of all things created.
****************************************************************
"watchful, like a man crossing a winter stream;
alert, like a man aware of danger;
courteous, like a visiting guest;
yielding, like ice about to melt;
simple, like a piece of uncarved wood;
hollow, like a cave;
opaque, like muddy water."
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 15)
Mindfulness is mental sharpness to know what is happening in the mind that brings about clarity of thinking, which is essential to human wisdom.
There is a close connection between the body and the mind. This body-mind connection in humans affects both the physical and the mental health of an individual, especially how that individual thinks and reacts. It is important to put the mind where the body is. For example, your body is now here-reading this book. But your mind may be somewhere else: your mind may be preoccupied with thoughts of the past, the present, or even the future. In other words, your mind may be rambling and disconnected, although you may not be aware of it. A chaotic mind produces adverse and detrimental biological and chemical changes, such as the production of stress hormones, and the reduction of human growth hormone (HGH), among others, that may accelerate the aging process in both the body and the mind.
Mindfulness begins with the body. Becoming mindful of your body in the present moment is putting your mind where your body is. This produces deep relaxation of both the body and mind-an essential element for clarity of thinking that may be the pathway to attaining true human wisdom.
The bottom line: Be watchful as if you were crossing a winter stream, fully aware of what is happening in the present moment.
****************************************************************
"Living in the present moment,
we find natural contentment.
We do not seek a faster lifestyle,
or a better place to be.
We need the essentials of life,
not its extra trimmings." Lao Tzu
Living in the present is an awakening to the realities of all things. That all things follow a natural cycle or order, which is beyond human control. Living in the present affords us an opportunity to look more objectively at any given situation, allowing our minds to think more clearly, to separate the truths from the half-truths that might have led us astray all along.
According to Lao Tzu, only the present is real: the past was gone, and the future is uncertain and unpredictable. When the mind stays in the present, it does not see the ego-self because it does not exist in the present, and only in the deceptive mind.
****************************************************************
“The Way is easy to find and follow:
empty the mind of conditioned thinking
of seeing things and doing things." Lao Tzu
The Way is the way to profound human wisdom. It is simple and easy to find. But why is it that so few people find it?
It is already innate in each one of us, but we need to look inside ourselves with an empty mind. But, instead, many of us just look outside, and we think with a close mind.
****************************************************************
"The Way to the Creator has no blueprint.
With faith and humility, we seek neither pride nor blame.
Our actions then become righteous and impeccable.
Our lives are illumined with the Creator’s light." Lao Tzu
To become enlightened, we must trust and obey, which is the only way to the Creator. If you want everything your way, there is no way! In other words, let go of your pride, and live with humility.
****************************************************************
"The softest thing in the world
overcomes what seems to be the hardest.
That which has no form
penetrates what seems to be impenetrable." Lao Tzu
An empty mindset is the opposite of a pre-conditioned mindset. Many of us may presume that what is hard is always strong and tough, but water, which is soft and formless, can be very strong and overwhelming.
****************************************************************
“Letting go of control,
we no longer strive and struggle.
Without strife and struggle,
there is no resistance.
Without resistance,
there is no suffering." Lao Tzu
Letting go is one of the essentials of Tao wisdom. Learn to let go of your material attachments in the physical world, your emotional attachments in the form of anger, remorse, and revenge, and your future attachments in dreams and expectations.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
The TAO of Living
We all have dualistic existence with our true self, and our ego-self. The true self is often pure and simple, but the ego-self is always tainted and complicated, leading to sin and evil. There is a constant conflict between the two-one forever trying to dominate and overcome the other.
Humility, without the ego, is the only Way to go. But the Way is never easy, because we are all imperfect.
Imperfection, however, is a gift of life: knowing that nobody is perfect may enable you to understand that you should always accept others as they are, because you, too, like everybody else, are imperfect.
Likewise, the life journey is a bed of roses but always with some thorns. So, just embrace all your daily life problems and challenges, and learn some valuable life lessons from them.
The TAO of daily living: everything is impermanent; at the end, all pains and pleasures ultimately become nothing.
“With the fall of man, good cannot exist without evil.
Man is born with virtues, but grows up with vices.
Likewise, life and death complement each other.
Heaven is eternal life; hell is everlasting death.
Human existence is therefore dualistic:
it can make heaven out of hell, or hell out of heaven.
Faith and lack of faith go along with each other.
The first will be the last, and the last will be the first.”
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 2)
Stephen Lau
Click here for more.
We all have dualistic existence with our true self, and our ego-self. The true self is often pure and simple, but the ego-self is always tainted and complicated, leading to sin and evil. There is a constant conflict between the two-one forever trying to dominate and overcome the other.
Humility, without the ego, is the only Way to go. But the Way is never easy, because we are all imperfect.
Imperfection, however, is a gift of life: knowing that nobody is perfect may enable you to understand that you should always accept others as they are, because you, too, like everybody else, are imperfect.
Likewise, the life journey is a bed of roses but always with some thorns. So, just embrace all your daily life problems and challenges, and learn some valuable life lessons from them.
The TAO of daily living: everything is impermanent; at the end, all pains and pleasures ultimately become nothing.
“With the fall of man, good cannot exist without evil.
Man is born with virtues, but grows up with vices.
Likewise, life and death complement each other.
Heaven is eternal life; hell is everlasting death.
Human existence is therefore dualistic:
it can make heaven out of hell, or hell out of heaven.
Faith and lack of faith go along with each other.
The first will be the last, and the last will be the first.”
(Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, chapter 2)
Stephen Lau
Click here for more.
ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING
What is meant by “anything is everything”? It may have different meanings and different interpretations to different individuals.
First of all, human perceptions are subjective and individualized: they are affected not only by the five senses, but also by the unique experiences of an individual, as well as by the indelible memories of those experiences retained in the mind of that individual. Therefore, what is important to you may not be as important to others, and vice-versa. For this reason, anything could be everything to you, but not to others.
An illustration
Near the end of 2016, a road rage occurred in Arkansas that ended in the tragic death of a 3-year-old child.
A woman, with her 3-year-old grandson sitting at the back of her car, stopped at a stop sign. A man in the car right behind honked her for not starting her car immediately, but the woman honked back; thus the road rage began with the man firing a gun shot at the back of the woman’s car.
Stopping too long at a stop sign, or wanting to get to a place on time might be everything to the man. Having the right to remain where she was might also be everything to the woman, so she naturally honked back.
Unfortunately, that anything-is-everything incident ended in tragedy-the death of the woman’s three-year-old grandson being shot dead while sitting at the back of her car.
In real life, anything could be everything to real people-it all depends on their respective perspectives of anything is everything.
Another illustration
In 2012, a Chinese couple from Hong Kong filed a lawsuit against an education consultant in the United States for $2 million dollars, who promised that he could-but ultimately did not-get their two sons into Harvard University.
The couple had used “improper” but maybe still perfectly “legal” means to get their two sons into Harvard University.
Getting into an elite college or university may be everything to many students, including their parents. Some might even resort to doing anything in order to achieve that goal, which is everything to them.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing is Everything.
What is your take on “anything is everything”? Are they really that important to you? The miracle of living is to let go of anything, because everything does not last. The wisdom is that nothingness is in fact the way to everything, and that is enlightenment of the human mind to live as if everything is a miracle.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© Stephen Lau
What is meant by “anything is everything”? It may have different meanings and different interpretations to different individuals.
First of all, human perceptions are subjective and individualized: they are affected not only by the five senses, but also by the unique experiences of an individual, as well as by the indelible memories of those experiences retained in the mind of that individual. Therefore, what is important to you may not be as important to others, and vice-versa. For this reason, anything could be everything to you, but not to others.
An illustration
Near the end of 2016, a road rage occurred in Arkansas that ended in the tragic death of a 3-year-old child.
A woman, with her 3-year-old grandson sitting at the back of her car, stopped at a stop sign. A man in the car right behind honked her for not starting her car immediately, but the woman honked back; thus the road rage began with the man firing a gun shot at the back of the woman’s car.
Stopping too long at a stop sign, or wanting to get to a place on time might be everything to the man. Having the right to remain where she was might also be everything to the woman, so she naturally honked back.
Unfortunately, that anything-is-everything incident ended in tragedy-the death of the woman’s three-year-old grandson being shot dead while sitting at the back of her car.
In real life, anything could be everything to real people-it all depends on their respective perspectives of anything is everything.
Another illustration
In 2012, a Chinese couple from Hong Kong filed a lawsuit against an education consultant in the United States for $2 million dollars, who promised that he could-but ultimately did not-get their two sons into Harvard University.
The couple had used “improper” but maybe still perfectly “legal” means to get their two sons into Harvard University.
Getting into an elite college or university may be everything to many students, including their parents. Some might even resort to doing anything in order to achieve that goal, which is everything to them.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing is Everything.
What is your take on “anything is everything”? Are they really that important to you? The miracle of living is to let go of anything, because everything does not last. The wisdom is that nothingness is in fact the way to everything, and that is enlightenment of the human mind to live as if everything is a miracle.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© Stephen Lau
This book explains the paradoxes of life: what "anything is everything" may be true to some people, but not to every one; "everything is nothing" is the reality of life, which is the impermanence of everything; "nothing is everything" is the profound wisdom to understand that the nothingness of everything may ultimately become everything if there is enlightenment in living as if everything is a miracle.
For more information, go to the following:
ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING
EVERYTHING IS NOTHING
NOTHING IS EVERYTHING
For more information, go to the following:
ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING
EVERYTHING IS NOTHING
NOTHING IS EVERYTHING
EVERYTHING IS IMPERMANENCE
Impermanence is an inescapable fact of all human existence, clearly evidenced in the process of falling sick, growing old, and dying in all humans, as well as in the process of decaying of all things perishable and the passing away of anything liable to pass. There are no exceptions, and that is the indisputable fact of impermanence of anything and everything.
Perspectives of impermanence
According to Buddha, life is like a river. The water flowing in a river is like a progressive and a successive series of different but unified movements of water, all joining together to create the impression of only one continuous flow of water. Likewise, human existence is moment to moment, with each moment leading to the next. It is also an illusion that the person in this moment is the same person in the next moment; just as the river of yesterday is not quite the same as the river of today. To think otherwise is human illusion.
Even from a scientific point of view, Buddha’s perspective is true. We know that cell divisions take place in each living being continuously: old cells in our bodies die and are continuously replaced by new ones. Technically speaking, all individuals are constantly subject to change, and the change is a continuous movement, just like the flowing water in a river.
Essence of change
The Creator has created for us a world of constant changes: everything is changing with every moment, remaining only with that very moment, and nothing remains permanent. It is through changes that we may transform ourselves into a better individual. Even in a difficult and challenging environment, we may learn from our mistakes and wrong choices in life, and so change ourselves. Change is transformation, which is educational and self-enlightening. Transformation is synonymous with impermanence, which is the essence of change.
Understanding that anything and everything is impermanent is already self-awakening. Nothing is permanent: the good as well as the bad things that happen to us are impermanent; nothing lasts forever. We all are aware of this universal truth of impermanence. We all know that we cannot live to well beyond one hundred years, and yet we resist our aging process, continuously fixing our faces and bodies to make them look younger. We may have the face of a forty-year-old but the body and the mind of a seventy-year-old. We simply refuse to let go of the impermanence of all things; we desperately and self-delusively cling on to the “permanence” of all our attachments.
The illusion or self-delusion is that many of us wish the impermanent were the permanent. It is this wishful thinking that makes us unhappy. We were once healthy and now our health has declined, and we are unhappy. We were wronged by our enemies, and we still hold on to our old grudges, instead of forgiving and letting them go, and we are unhappy. Our past glories gave us the ego, which we refuse to let go of, and we become depressed and unhappy.
Life is about changes, and living is about letting go of what is impermanent that we naively believe and wish to be permanent.
Remember, nothing is permanent, and each and every moment remains only with that very moment. Therefore, live in the present moment, and live all your moments to their best and to the fullest as if everything is a miracle.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing Is Everything.
Impermanence is an inescapable fact of all human existence, clearly evidenced in the process of falling sick, growing old, and dying in all humans, as well as in the process of decaying of all things perishable and the passing away of anything liable to pass. There are no exceptions, and that is the indisputable fact of impermanence of anything and everything.
Perspectives of impermanence
According to Buddha, life is like a river. The water flowing in a river is like a progressive and a successive series of different but unified movements of water, all joining together to create the impression of only one continuous flow of water. Likewise, human existence is moment to moment, with each moment leading to the next. It is also an illusion that the person in this moment is the same person in the next moment; just as the river of yesterday is not quite the same as the river of today. To think otherwise is human illusion.
Even from a scientific point of view, Buddha’s perspective is true. We know that cell divisions take place in each living being continuously: old cells in our bodies die and are continuously replaced by new ones. Technically speaking, all individuals are constantly subject to change, and the change is a continuous movement, just like the flowing water in a river.
Essence of change
The Creator has created for us a world of constant changes: everything is changing with every moment, remaining only with that very moment, and nothing remains permanent. It is through changes that we may transform ourselves into a better individual. Even in a difficult and challenging environment, we may learn from our mistakes and wrong choices in life, and so change ourselves. Change is transformation, which is educational and self-enlightening. Transformation is synonymous with impermanence, which is the essence of change.
Understanding that anything and everything is impermanent is already self-awakening. Nothing is permanent: the good as well as the bad things that happen to us are impermanent; nothing lasts forever. We all are aware of this universal truth of impermanence. We all know that we cannot live to well beyond one hundred years, and yet we resist our aging process, continuously fixing our faces and bodies to make them look younger. We may have the face of a forty-year-old but the body and the mind of a seventy-year-old. We simply refuse to let go of the impermanence of all things; we desperately and self-delusively cling on to the “permanence” of all our attachments.
The illusion or self-delusion is that many of us wish the impermanent were the permanent. It is this wishful thinking that makes us unhappy. We were once healthy and now our health has declined, and we are unhappy. We were wronged by our enemies, and we still hold on to our old grudges, instead of forgiving and letting them go, and we are unhappy. Our past glories gave us the ego, which we refuse to let go of, and we become depressed and unhappy.
Life is about changes, and living is about letting go of what is impermanent that we naively believe and wish to be permanent.
Remember, nothing is permanent, and each and every moment remains only with that very moment. Therefore, live in the present moment, and live all your moments to their best and to the fullest as if everything is a miracle.
The above is taken from the book: Anything Is Everything; Everything Is Nothing; Nothing Is Everything.
