Would we put off until another day something we really want to do, if we realise that we only have 24 hours to live deeply at a time.
When we talk about something being “permanent”, somehow we feel secure, we feel relaxed and we feel comfortable. Being a “permanent resident” of a country, or being a “permanent member of staff” of an organisation make some people feel comfortable.
We also like to seek out “stability”. We crave for stability.
Most of us act as if whatever status roles we are in, whatever bank balance we have, and whatever health state we are in, and whatever relationships we have are “permanent” and “stable”.
This false state is a total delusion. But it’s a delusion which let many people off the hook. They can tell themselves they can do something fulfilling “later” or not take the first step in something they know they need to take………………………for when we think of everything as permanent or stable, it means we can take our time to move forward, we always have another “tomorrow” to do the impactful work or say the impactful thing, or do our internal work……
What if we shift our interpretation of the universe. Instead of permanence, we see impermanence. Will this make the present moment much more precious and spacious for immediate action?
What if we make a vow to live deeply 24 hours at a time? Would removing the idea of permanence make us act within the next 24 hours……immediately. To take action one step at a time, but immediately. To connect with whoever we need to connect, one step at a time, but immediately. To take action to learn that language we have been planning to learn for ever……..and take the next step immediately.
What if we go and offer help to someone in need we have been thinking about, and do it immediately within the 24 hours.
I am curious, if we shift from seeing things as permanent, and looking at them as impermanent, and see only the next 24 hours as the window we have to do the important things, would we feel the urgency to do it immediately. And take that first step, however small the first step is, immediately?
What choice do we have but to take that step immediately, once we realise the nature of impermanence?