The three worlds are impermanent as the clouds of autumn.
The births and deaths of beings are like watching a dance.
The speed of human life is like lightening in the sky.
It passes swiftly as a stream down a steep mountain.*
*From the “Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Toward the Dharma.”
Lightening in a bottle
My husband gave me this lightening in a bottle: sand that has been struck by lightening. It’s as if the sand has been frozen in time, from the moment of its electrification.
We do this all the time, mentally, with ourselves and everything around us. We try to cling to happy times, relationships we care about it, things we enjoy, and expectations around health and longevity. But like lightening, we are here in a flash and gone. I find this oddly comforting.
