The “Hardest-Learned Lesson”

For me, impermanence is like the weather. I am unable to do anything about it but ever mindful of its effects.

I watch the weather change, accept that it will; it is not imperative that I like or dislike it. It just is.

Impermanence is a kind of invisibility so when it comes to call I look back for the change I did not see coming. Acceptance is not automatic. More often, it is a cup of bitterness. Whether I sip or pass, the choice is mine.

The hardest-learned lesson is that people have

only their kind of love to give, not our kind.

Mignon McLaughlin

Realizing I am doing the best I am able allows me to take up the cup. A bitter sip sweetens. I have options; like or dislike is a judgment best swallowed.

Some of the most bitter cups can leave the sweetest taste. This seems ever true.

Moments do not restore each other but offer options on the unforeseen or even the seemingly impossible. Bittersweet is the cup passed to us; in equanimity, we sip.

The wise adapt themselves to circumstances,

as water molds itself to the pitcher.

Chinese Proverb

Aim for Even posts offer equanimity in daily doses. No day or dose is ever the same, even if the aim is. You may read about the origins of Aim for Even here or on this site’s About page.