[This episode originally aired on August 2, 2022]  In Buddhism some practices are designated as meditation practices, such as working with mindfulness and awareness  •  other practices, called contemplative practices, are focused on working with the concepts in our mind  •  one of the most important of these is the contemplation of impermanence, change, and death  •  we often have difficulty accepting the reality of impermanence; we create various coverings to mask this raw, basic truth  •  but this contemplation isn’t intended to make everyone morose or obsessed with death  •  in fact, this kind of contemplation actually frees one from the fear of change, and provides a basis for being able to accommodate change  •  the following four approaches are often given for helping us to broaden our understanding of impermanence: 1) everything that is born will die;  2) every meeting leads to a parting;  3) every gathering leads to a dispersing; and  4) everything created eventually dissolves, or is destroyed.