“As any good Buddhist will tell you, the only way to find permanent joy is by embracing the fact that nothing is permanent.” Martha Beck, Finding Your Own North Star
If you live anywhere in the US besides Florida, Arizona, California and Hawaii, you too have likely had an unbearable winter. We’re now here in March and I can tell you everyone in Ohio is ready for spring. As I sit here, it is sunny and 60 degrees; but tomorrow we’re expected to get more snow and the temperature will drop to 23 degrees. It’s almost the only thing people here are talking (ie: complaining) about: “When will this winter end? Will we ever get a break in this weather? I’m so sick of the cold and snow!”
Believe me, I’m not a fan of cold weather. I’ve had people call me a lizard and tell me I should be living in the desert with my tolerance and love for the heat. But, I’m also not a fan of choosing to live a life filled with grey clouds as the focus.
Did you know that the sky is always blue? It’s true. The color of the sky doesn’t change, but what we can see does change. Sometimes there are clouds in front of that perfect blue panoramic that hides its beauty. The good news is that those clouds are only temporary. They will eventually blow off and move away, allowing in enough blue sky and sunlight to form buds on the trees and seedlings in the grass. The clouds are only temporary. Spring will come.
The clouds in our lives that we sometimes spend too much time focusing on are also temporary. That argument you had with your husband last night – that doesn’t have to last. That soul sucking job you have – it’s not forever. That broken heart you feel from a broken relationship – it will heal. That feeling inside that something is missing in your life – spring will come.
It’s actually when we stop battling against or struggling with what’s right there in front of us that we find peace; we find beauty in “what is,” rather than finding fault with “what is not.” I know this sounds like sunshine and rainbows (no pun intended), but the simple acknowledgement that nothing is permanent and everything will eventually change can literally change your whole perspective.
It’s easy to forget that our skies are also always blue. Sometimes the clouds blow in and we forget that the core of who we are really is at peace and inside of each of us there is a light that wants to shine brightly and a beauty just waiting to spring forth.