The Only Constant In Life Is...
Earth is in a constant state of flux. Locked in the cycle of daily routine, it’s easy to forget that we are living on a giant rock rotating through space. Though we cannot feel it, the Earth is always moving. The weather fluctuates, tectonic plates shift, and ocean currents flow. Constant movement and change define life on Earth, yet humanity often struggles to accept this reality. By learning to embrace change, both in the world and within ourselves, we can move toward lasting peace.
Sometime around the 6th to 5th century BCE, Siddhartha Gautama (aka: Buddha) founded Buddhism. In Buddhism, the acceptance of impermanence (anicca) and the absence of a fixed self (annata) are key to reducing suffering. These teachings encourage us to release our attachment to fleeting things and instead focus on cultivating peace in the present moment. Around the same time period, the philosopher Heraclitus was sharing similar ideas. He is credited with saying that, “the only constant in life is change,” and that “a man cannot step into the same river twice, because it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.”
These concepts have been around for a long time, and were likely discussed for much longer prior to official writings. Through the awareness and acceptance that life is fleeting, we learn to loosen the tight grip we have on life, and release the illusion that we have control over anything. This awareness also helps us learn to appreciate the beauty that exists in every moment.
The philosophy of a constantly changing world is not difficult to agree with, and yet the power of this truth is repeatedly resisted and ignored. We chase idealized versions of ourselves, believing that if we attain the perfect job, relationship, or body, we will finally feel complete. Yet, even if we did reach this imagined perfection, it would still be subject to change. As anicca teaches, nothing is permanent, and the illusion of perfection only leads us into cycles of dissatisfaction.
We also see this tendency on a broader societal level. Think about the people who idolize the past and detest the present, or those who detest the present and pedestalize the future. And of course, there are also equal opportunity haters who hold disdain for both the past, present, and future.
What is closer to reality is a mindset that acknowledges existence in its totality. In every era throughout human history there has been profound beauty and achievement, and profound violence and suffering. At no time was there ever just one or the other. The concept of “heaven on Earth” or “utopia” is attractive, but not possible on a planet ruled by change. At least – not in the traditional sense.
The human mind, like everything else on Earth, is also ruled by transition. Brain activity naturally fluctuates throughout the day and while we sleep. Being too concerned with the future morphs into anxiety, while being stuck in the past morphs into depression. What happens when we don’t live in the past or the future?
That’s the present baby. And the present is the closest we can get to the heaven that exists within. Only a small fraction of people live in the here and now. It is living in current reality rather than being trapped in the shackles of future worries or past regrets.
But of course, we’re all human and even those who are very present-focused will still have thoughts about the past and the future. That’s all okay and normal. A key difference is that those committed to living in the present practice observing the thoughts that float through their minds, rather than identifying with them. When we cease fighting our thoughts, and let them be as they are, they can then pass through us like a river.
It may be surprising to learn that emotions actually have very short life spans (if we let them). Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist, author, and speaker, popularized the “90 second rule” of emotional processing. She writes:
“When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90 second chemical process that happens in the body; after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop. Something happens in the external world and chemicals are flushed through your body which puts it on full alert. For those chemicals to totally flush out of the body it takes less than 90 seconds. This means that for 90 seconds you can watch the process happening, you can feel it happening, and then you can watch it go away. After that, if you continue to feel fear, anger, and so on, you need to look at the thoughts that you’re thinking that are re-stimulating the circuitry that is resulting in you having this physiological response over and over again.”
If we allow ourselves to fully feel and accept our emotions as they are, rather than fighting or engaging with the emotional loops, we can be free of our pain and anger in less than two minutes. I have felt this truth many times in my own life. Drawing from all these ideas, whenever I feel intense emotions, I try to remind myself that these feelings, like everything else on Earth, will pass. It is in the moments where I try to fight or hold my emotions back that my sadness or anger is prolonged.
When I let go of the pressure to “hold it together,” and let myself have a good cry, I feel an almost immediate sense of lightness. I release the tension in my jaw, my shoulders relax, and my breathing deepens. While letting the emotional release happen, I remove myself from the painful loop I was trapped inside and, once those 90 seconds are fully felt, I feel renewed. From there, I can take steps forward from a place of peace, rather than anxiety.
Letting our thoughts float down the river of self guides us back to the present. The Earth is in a constant state of flux, and so are we. We are not meant to always exist in the same state (and it’s also impossible). There is always a choice. We can prolong the murkiness that we feel and fight it until the end of time. Or, we can learn how to let it pass through.
Our attachment to the past and future is often driven by societal pressures and expectations, but when we rely on these illusory timelines we overlook the richness of the present. Living in the present does not mean that we will suddenly have no past pains or goals for the future – all of these can exist within us. It simply means that we are not ruled by someone else’s timeline, and that we can embrace the wholeness that exists in every moment.
The ground beneath us will, literally, keep shifting until the end of time. And so will we. We can cling for dear life onto an illusion of unchanging stability, and suffer the consequences when our stability crumbles, or we can live in the awareness of change.
By embracing change and living in the present, we unlock the peace that is already within. This peace does not require perfect circumstances or a static life; it exists in every fleeting moment, waiting for us to notice it and embrace it.