A Change of Perspective

Yesterday, the wind blew at me from the south, whipping my hair straight behind me, making my walk to the car at the end of a long day feel like a resistance workout. My flapping shirt and the swaying tree branches, the muffled roar as I got into the car and shut the door, all reminded me that we are always in motion.

Sitting for hours grading papers, going through a full Monday of teaching three classes, posting midterm grades, talking with students, being in my usual routine, I felt only time pass and deadlines get closer. On days like that, I can forget—and usually do—that we are on this huge orb that is moving very quickly on its axis, that this orb is at the same time whipping through space.

The power of the wind, though, made the movement real, present. And the movement reminded me of the consistency of impermanence. Everything is changing all the time. We are literally in a different place every moment, whether or not we see it. And, yes, we are at a different moment in time, too.

While this realization of constant change often fills with me with a yearning to hold on, the recognition can also be comforting, especially in difficult times. And sometimes it enables me to be right here, right now and to really, truly inhabit this moment.

Recently, Marilyn and I flew out East for our annual trip to celebrate the twins’ birthday. On our short flight north to Chicago, I took several photos, including one of our neighborhood, a photo in which we could pinpoint our house and delight in the bird’s eye view, and another of downtown Chicago, in which we could find the location of our favorite hotel. 

A mandala created by UUs of all ages in our fellowship hall at UUCUC on Sunday, after a thought-provoking service titled "Practice Impermanence."