In this practice, you're invited to notice something we usually miss: the lifespan of things. Everything that arises—a feeling, a sound, a breath—has a life… and then it fades. We typically notice phenomena when we are in the thick of it, but what if you could notice the fading? There's something that happens when you contemplate that this might be the last time you feel this particular way, hear this particular sound, take this particular breath—tenderness, presence. You stop gripping so tightly because you realize you can't hold it anyway. In this meditation, we are learning that impermanence becomes permission to just be here.

Practice reflection:

The Buddhist teaching of anicca (impermanence) can sound bleak until you practice with it. Everything changes and everything ends, including moments you love. But there’s something liberating buried under this realization—if everything is impermanent, then this anxiety won’t last forever, and neither will this joy. Neither will this particular ache in your heart.

In daily life, we grip what feels good and resist what feels bad, never quite believing that both are temporary. We argue with our partner like it’s permanent. We hold onto a compliment like we can keep it forever. We catastrophize a bad moment as if it defines our whole life. Impermanence is constantly telling us otherwise, but we don’t often hear its message.

The contemplation of anicca shows us reminds us to just be present—with your loved one, knowing you won’t have them forever; ith your body, knowing it’s changing; with this breath, knowing it’s the only one you have right now. That awareness doesn’t make you morbid, it makes you tender.

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