Here is a segment from THE COMPETITIVE BUDDHA on Impermanence. This is especially important because ALL things will change...that is the only constant in life. See if this matters to you right now, amid all that is happening with COVID and an election.
It is not impermanence that makes us suffer.
What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.
Thich Nhat Hanh
There is only one constant in life and that is, change will happen. The seasons of the year, the cycle of weather, the journey of life and death, the rising of the sun, the setting of the moon. Impermanence is a fact of life. Many practitioners understand such changes as the cornerstone of Buddhist teachings. Nothing lasts and our futile attempts to hold onto things is the root of much suffering. The wisdom of Buddhist thought suggests that “impermanence is inescapable; all things vanish. Time, itself, is impermanent.”
In my life, I have experienced sadness and loss yet in time, these periods change into joy and gain only to return back to sadness and loss once again. Life fluctuates. The Buddha reminds me that life is ten thousand joys, ten thousand sorrows for all of us. Nothing is endless bliss or joy. There is social injustice and simple struggle with how unfair life seems to be. My tears due to the loss of a friend or a defeat in the sports arena, searing as it may be, is the by-product of deep love. All loss and challenging change in life deepens my ability to connect with passion and love.
Notice how this discussion is so very relevant to your experience in athletics. I remember the joy, excitement and bliss of being intimately involved in the seven consecutive women’s lacrosse championships at the University of Maryland. The athletes, coaches and myself thought we’d never lose. Then it happened; several years of not hoisting the trophy. We were in a state of shock and disbelief thinking our streak would never end. The program has come full circle and these days the Terps are back on top winning championships with regularity once again. This, too, will change.
Such swings from dominance to mediocrity or irrelevancy is just the way it is in sports. Who remembers the dominating Boston Celtics of the 1950’s-1960’s? Most recently, the Golden State Warriors have gone from perennial champions to having close to the worst record in the NBA.
Because of his Buddhist childhood, Tiger Woods understands the impermanence of success. After years of being at the top, he now struggles to get a victory. What goes up must come down.
I have been grappling recently with the decline of my running speed. People pass me on the hills where that never happened before. I’m experiencing the cycle of age and diminishing physical capability. While it’s not easy, I do realize this is the never-ending swing of life and performance. Nothing lasts forever including high times or low. The key is to appreciate every day what we have, knowing this too will change. The competitive Buddha is well aware of this.
When you take a good look at your world of athletics, there is nothing to cling to. Your grasping to hold on to results and outcomes is continually challenged.
Athletics, like life, is a continually moving pendulum, a never-ending process constantly recycling itself as it gains eternal life. If you don’t like a situation, know that, in time, it will change. All you can do at any moment is focus not upon what’s changed but on what you have and how you will make the most of that, doing the best you can to get the most out of your experience. Discover the gem inside the darkness.
By embracing impermanence profoundly, you become free and liberated. This entails letting go, not of your efforts, work ethic or your wish to master your craft, but of the constant change and impermanence of life and your desperate need to control it all. Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah reminds us, “if you let go a little, you’ll have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you’ll have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you’ll have complete peace.”
In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?
Buddhist Thought
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