I'm Sandra Spielberg.
I'm an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley,
An author,
And a meditation teacher.
Today I'd like to speak with you about the concept of impermanence.
As I speak to you today recording these words from California,
I woke up once again to a white sky.
In addition to the coronavirus pandemic,
Which has brought with it the loss of life,
Jobs,
And resources,
Now our air is thick with smoke from the wildfires that rage on in every direction.
Let me share that I had made great plans for this time,
And none of them are coming to fruition.
Everything canceled either because it can't take place indoors and now outdoors.
This pandemic,
Compounded by social,
Economic,
And climate issues,
Can be a moment of despair and suffering for many of us.
One of the concepts I find very useful in times of suffering is the concept of impermanence.
I like this concept so much that I almost tattooed it on my body,
But alas,
That urge was also impermanent.
Impermanence is defined as the state or fact of lasting for only a limited period of time.
Impermanence is that consistent and beautiful reminder that all comes to an end.
All is temporary.
All passes one way or another.
When it comes to those events we judge as bad or negative,
Impermanence gives us hope that they too shall pass.
And every time I say this too shall pass,
I'm reminded of my father who rests in peace.
He was a wise man and as such would go around telling anyone experiencing a perceived difficulty that this too shall pass.
No job,
It will pass.
No love life,
It will pass.
No joy,
It will pass.
When it comes to those events we judge as good or positive,
Well,
Those pass too.
And so impermanence reminds us to appreciate them while they are with us.
If you notice I say judge because we tend to become very judgmental of situations anytime we're experiencing them.
When we experience a situation we deem negative,
We want it to pass.
But we want it to pass because we judged the situation to be negative.
Maybe it isn't negative.
Maybe we just don't know what this moment brings,
How this moment can change us or what it can awaken in us.
We experience pain as a negative experience,
But is it truly a negative experience when pain can be the catalyst to wake us up to our life?
And we see pleasure as a positive experience,
But is it truly a positive experience when pleasure can end up lulling us back to sleep,
In action and complacency?
So what would happen if we suspended judgment on this present moment?
I love to read to you this Chinese proverb.
Goes like this.
A farmer gets a horse which soon runs away.
A neighbor says,
That's bad news.
The farmer replies,
Good news,
Bad news,
Who knows?
The horse comes back and brings another horse with him.
Good news,
Said the people.
Good news,
Bad news,
Who knows?
Replied the farmer.
The farmer gives the second horse to his son who rides it,
Then is thrown and badly breaks his leg.
So sorry for your bad news,
Say the concerned neighbors.
Good news,
Bad news,
Who knows?
The farmer replies.
A week later,
The emperor's commanders come and take every able-bodied young man to fight in a war.
The farmer's son is spared.
And so maybe there's an opportunity to ask this question over and over as you encounter the parts of your life,
The present moment,
And instead of defaulting to judging this present moment as good or bad,
Let's rest in that moment.
Before the judgment,
We truly don't know what this moment means in the grand scheme of things.
Back to impermanence in the book,
When Things Fall Apart by Pima Shodram,
She says,
We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem.
But the truth is that things don't really get solved.
They come together and they fall apart.
They come together again and fall apart again.
It's just like that.
The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen,
Room for grief,
For relief,
For misery,
And for joy.
So instead of saying,
This is so good,
This is so bad,
Instead we can train ourselves to say,
This just is.
This is what this present moment has in store for us.
And it will pass one way or another.
May you find awakening in this present moment.
Thank you.
