Falling lives
Everything has a life-cycle, birth-life-death. It doesn't matter what is investigated, no matter how solid and strong something seems, eventually it will become dust. This impermanence of life scares some people as it means that they and all they have created, protected, collected and cared for will one day be gone too. I see it as freeing.
It means that we are open to try things, experiment and be curious with life as life is not set in stone, and even if it was, eventually the stone will crumble into dust too. We may tie ourselves to the circumstances of the moment and do all we can to hold on without wanting the next moment to arrive.
Seeing the eventual death of all things frees us to live more fully and opens us to enjoy the people we have in our lives now, instead of tomorrow. We can get to know them and connect with them at many different stages and build an understanding on how we ourselves choose to live.
Do we give or do we take, lend a hand or hold down, support or harm? How much effort are we willing to put into a life where our legacy is limited to a few generations at best. History is both unforgiving and forgiving as soon, even the details of the most glorious and heinous of lives are blurred and lost until the brightest of achievements and darkest of acts are little more than footnotes, if that.
We can see it now that the further we move from history, the closer it gets to repeating as flawed positions rise in as if first discovered. All they have done is uncovered something old, claimed it as their own and act as if it is of utmost importance once again.
The way of the world perhaps, or at least, the way of the human world for we are impermanent also, our entire species hinges on a narrow band of circumstance in time and if conditions shift too far this way or that, we are also banished into the land of what was. And perhaps, there will never come another to uncover our civilizations or dig up our bones.
Does that mean that what we do does not matter because it will not matter one day? Some may see it this way but I do not. What I do matters a great deal for at least while I am conscious, I care, I strive, I look for ways to improve myself and add value to the world that is always crumbling. For me, this gives my life meaning.
My thoughts, words, actions and the entirety of my existence will quickly sink into oblivion once I am gone which means, the only value of me is in this moment now. This requires me to take care of myself, take care of those who are important to me and use what I have in the best ways I can in this moment, not tomorrow as life passes by too quickly to wait.
I have lost some friends unexpectedly recently and the older I get, the higher the count becomes. They had families, friends and dreams too, they worked hard at a range of things, enjoyed life, were happy, sad and occasionally depressed. They were often thinking about what the future holds, wondering what their children would grow to become, concerned with the daily trivialities of news and society. Are their lives wasted?
As the leaf grows, it absorbs the energy from the sun and helps the tree to develop but, all leaves eventually fall from the tree and flutter to the ground and disappear. This may be seen as the end of life or the energy for the next to begin.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
I am not sure why, but I got some kind of Nietzschean vibe from this one...
I'm currently reading a book that touches a lot on the impermanence of life, and I am somewhat capable to accept it for me, it is indeed freeing, but I cannot accept it for the ones I love, I just can't...
I don't read so much and have never read Nietzsche so I will take your word for it. It is difficult isn't it to understand a natural law yet want to limit its application to protect what we are attached to, what we fear to lose. Perhaps detaching is actually the only way in which to truly love as it is only then we are willing to see it as is and let it be all it is without restriction and expectation.
falling leaf is same when a man fall in love ,
great photography , thanks for sharing
Reading your words made me think of Heraclitus: "You could not step twice into the same river".
Very good post.
If people could truly see their insignificance in the big scheme of things, and their own mortality without fear, life would be more joyful for everyone.
(and governments would be laughed out of the peoples court)
When one is insignificant, there is no cost to helping another in my opinion.
Yes, people do not know how much they give up for a sense of government and banking security.
Thats why its important for us to live each day as if its our last. We should make an effort to make the most out of each day. Helping people. Spending time with the ones we love. Spreading love and kindness around the world. And be grateful for all the things we have in life. I love your post bro! Keep on posting! 😊
I look at it as a new beginning. :) Fall might just be my fav season. Hard to say since I enjoy elements of all of them. But the colors.....
...as for wasted lives....who sets the bar on what is a wasted or a good life? :D
I set the bar for me, you do for you. What that means for each of us may be very different but no less valuable to ourselves or potentially, the world.
I like fall too :)
I set the bar for everyone :) don't worry I will let you know if you are wasting your life! so far you are doing ok, but a lot of that depends on how often you upvote me.
beautiful words of wisdom i needed today, namaste and thank you for the positive vibrations!! <3
nice post
We live in a world of forms. And we define ourselves through identification with all those forms. The more solid the form the stronger the identification is. My house, my car, my family, my body, my self. "My" being the key word here. That little word that makes something part of who we are. And if we indeed believe that, that it's part of who we are, then we are, of course, afraid to lose it, because that would mean losing a part of ourselves.
But as you so nicely put it, all forms are destined to dissolve. Every single one of them. Even the Earth we live upon, the sun that nurtures us, the universe itself. The good news is, though, we are not those forms that we identify with. We are not. We are the consciousness, the one being, that penetrates all forms and lives as the same essence in all of them. And when one realizes that and is able to connect to that essence and live in that state of consciousness the, eventual, death of every form is seen as part of the circle of life and death that it truly is and not some loss of self. And, by the way, also beautifully described!
Anyway. Excellent post! And if you are interested in some spiritual reading I suggest looking into Eckhart Tolle.
You are so right!
You are very evolved. Glad I'm following you.
A couple of years ago I realized that my father had been dead longer than he was alive. My sisters and I and much of what they have are like the ripples in the pond of his existence. His flesh is gone but his legacy remains. This too shall pass, but I've contemplated how far my own ripples will extend after my departure, his ripples by extension. It matters not a whit, but it is an interesting and entertaining mental adventure. Thank you for the reminder.
This reminded me if something I wrote a couple of weeks ago:
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@tarazkp/an-unknown-ripple
Yes... I may write too much.
They are both, of course.
We cannot walk through a field of wildflowers without crushing a few. While it is good to contemplate our rippling of the world while we are in it, we should not let it paralyze us, prevent us from following our heart or that beat of the different drummer. There will always be unintended consequences. That's just how life is. As long as we move through life consciously, doing as much "good" and as little "harm" as we can we are doing exactly what were are here to do. The fact that good and evil are judgements means that some of the good we do will cause harm and some of the mistakes we make will bear good fruit. That's the paradox of life and why we should just keep moving forward and not fret too much about the ripples. IMHO
Another good post @Tarazkp!
Yes, the paralysis is a fear of making the wrong move, caring how we will be seen , what we may lose, the harm we may do or the costs we may pay. Better to stand still and watch the pool stagnate.
Splash around and have fun I think.
Yes, the splashing is what oxygenates the stagnant water and brings it to life.