Things naturally feel less personal when we realize that they’re not permanent. Taking something personally simply becomes an uncomfortable thought, with uncomfortable bodily sensations that eventually pass. There’s nothing truer about being alive than the impermanent nature of absolutely everything: the intensity of our thoughts, the discomfort of conflict, the mood that we’re currently in, the appearance of our bodies. Everything changes. When things aren’t going well, it will pass. And when things are going well, it will pass. Extra suffering comes from (1) clinging or grasping onto
...more
