#1396 - impermanence and trust
I sat down to write with an idea in mind. A small one, just three words I wrote yesterday in my notebook during a meeting.
But then, I opened this blog to check the numeral of today's apple and saw this note from a blog I follow. When I see anything from Krishnamurti, I can't resist. That note is an extract from one of his talks. This one is on the impermanent nature of life and our craving for permanency.
It is a great reading, and if you can spare ten minutes today, you would give a gift to yourself.
What struck me, in particular, is this part.
But you see, life is not like that at all; life is not permanent. Like the leaves that fall from a tree, all things are impermanent, nothing endures; there is always change and death. Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky, how beautiful it is? All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness there is a poem, there is a song. Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring. When the spring comes it again fills the tree with the music of many leaves, which in due season fall and are blown away; and that is the way of life.
A few days ago, I was talking with a dear friend about seasons, the cyclicity of life and how we have bought the idea that life is a linear journey, going out of synch with its cycles.
We discussed how much we could learn about this from plants and animals. And I remember when she told me about a process called "abscission". It's the process through which the trees shed their leaves in autumn to prepare for the winter. Now, reading those words from Krishnamurti, I'm reminded of an insight I had while we were talking about the cycle of seasons and trees letting go of all their leaves so they could grow new ones once spring comes.
Trees don't know for sure that spring will come when they do that.
They just trust life.