The consolations of transience.
This blog considers two aspects of transience that I have been contemplating recently. Firstly how we often wreck the moment by lamenting its temporal nature and how appreciation and savouring can help avoid that. Secondly how transience is such succour in these ‘unprecedented’ times and how the idea of impermanence gives welcome perspective.
Brief eternities.
As the shoots of bulbs emerge through the earth and even the dusting of recent snow in our gardens, our thoughts naturally turn to Spring. The sight of the first snowdrops or daffodils in bloom spikes the spirit as we anticipate longer and warmer days.
The seasons and their continuous cycle is probably the most obvious example of constant change. Transience is the quality of being temporary, fleeting or momentariness. We celebrate this in our appreciation of nature. In Japan hanami is the ancient tradition of celebrating the transient beauty of flowers with blossom viewing parties. Tourist trips to Japan can be planned around tours of this glorious spectacle. The joy is heightened by the ephemeral nature of the sakura (cherry blossom).
However the rejoicing is also tinged with sadness since the blossom falls at the apex of its fulsome perfection. It illustrates the idea of hakanasa in Japanese culture which conveys the fragility or evanescence of life. We often link transience with regret and nostalgia since it evokes a sense of impermanence.
At the nadir of the best times the thought that the perfection of the moment is fleeting and will not last can pierce the bubble. Haven’t we all ruined Sunday nights or holidays with the thought of the weekend or holiday ending? Whilst it is very natural to want to hold onto temporal treasures it is also impossible – as futile as trying to stop those waves rolling onto the shore. However there are a few attitudes that help us embrace transience and accept the passing of time more easily.
Living in the sunrise
Savouring is the process of really noticing and being more present to what is right in front of us so that we appreciate and enhance our positive experiences. Essentially we get the most out of the moment – you can practise this by slowing down and noticing tiny details and sensations. Taking the time to connect to sensory pleasure and the minutiae of our perception rewires us. The hanami tradition referred to above is a national celebration of savouring as a practice.
Positive psychology research increasingly shows that taking pleasure in the present allows us to anticipate the future more positively. Essentially by consciously tuning into the beauty or joy of a moment and appreciating it more fully has a ripple effect on our lives. The more we savour, the more we can actually let a moment go. One of the few poems I can recite by heart is ‘Eternity’ by William Blake which is apt and suitably brief:
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy.
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise.
Impermanence
The flipside of the fact that nothing beautiful or joyous lasts forever is that the same is also true for the hard and unpleasant times in life. The same impermanence and inevitable progression of time becomes a blessing. The pandemic has writ this large into all our lives. Whilst it hasn’t been fleeting and it will leave a lasting imprint in families and societies – there is a sense that we are inexorably getting through it. Every day done not another day that has to be done and a day closer to an end where immunity and vaccinations reach global saturation.
Many of us have turned more to mindful practices such as meditation to alleviate anxiety in these times. One feature of mindfulness is that it lets us see things as they really are – it does not distort and with practise can reveal truths. In studying vipassana (insight) meditation then anicca (impermanence) is introduced as one of three prime characteristics which Buddhism teaches are the deepest truths of existence.
Mindfulness teaches the same skills of being present and savouring that we explored above for appreciation of fleeting joys. Often by focusing on this breath and only this breath as it flows in and out- never staying the same. Never has Jon Kabat-Zinn’s phrase ‘as if your life depends on it’ been more relevant – but the lesson in hard times is the succour which the awareness of the exact moment gives. The impermanence and transience of this exact moment is an absolute blessing.
Interestingly the fragility of the cherry blossom is also a symbol of the samurai warrior class in Japan – the uber representation of strength and valour to the country. The symbol represents the ephemeral nature of life but also hope and rebirth.
Thanks for reading and here is to the renewal that spring brings.
Love & light
