Take a deep breath. Hold it for a moment, then let it go.
That specific breath—that exact collection of molecules, that precise moment in time—can never be taken again. You might inhale again immediately after, and the new breath might contain traces of the same air, but the composition has changed. You have changed. You have extracted the oxygen you needed, and the moment has passed.
This biological rhythm is the perfect metaphor for the reality we live in: Impermanence.
We often view our lives as a static picture, but in reality, life is a moving film. Every second is fundamentally different from the one that preceded it. Often, the changes are microscopic—cells dividing, leaves shifting in the wind, the earth rotating slightly on its axis. We can’t always say for sure what has changed, but if we look closely, we can see the evolution unfolding before our eyes.
The Universe is a Verb, Not a Noun
If the world around us is in a constant state of flux, never remaining the same from one second to the next, why do we insist that we must remain the same?
We often trap ourselves in the boxes of our past identities. We tell ourselves, “I am this kind of person,” or “I believe this specific thing.” But the beauty of impermanence is that it grants us the ultimate agency: The power to completely change every second we live.
You are under no cosmic obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.
The Courage to Change Your Mind
This fluidity brings us to a difficult, yet liberating truth. If we are evolving, and the world is evolving, then our understanding of the truth must evolve, too.
You might have believed something with your whole heart in the last second. But in this second—armed with new information, a new perspective, or simply a new feeling—that belief may no longer serve you.
We often view “being wrong” as a failure. We see changing our minds as “flip-flopping” or a sign of instability. But under the law of impermanence, holding onto a belief that no longer fits the current reality is the only true failure.
We must be prepared to say, “I was wrong,” or perhaps more accurately, “That statement is no longer true.”
Exhale the Old
Just as you cannot hold onto a breath forever without suffocating, you cannot hold onto past versions of yourself without stagnating.
Embrace the changing seconds. Allow yourself the grace to contradict your past self. The world is new every time you open your eyes; you are allowed to be new, too.
