Sitting on the bus a week or so ago, I passed a field full of dandelions. The bright, golden multitude made my heart sing. What a joyous sight this golden yellow is, wild and free.

A few days later I made the same journey. Each golden sun had turned into a silver globe, gossamer light seed heads waiting for the wind to carry them away.

They reminded me of impermanence. Too often I seek to hold onto joy and grieve when it is gone, holding on tightly brings pain and regret.

These tiny teachers spoke of a different manifestation of joy. Each bright flower had transformed into hundreds of seeds, where there had been one there was now the possibility of a whole crowd, and the gathered multitude? Thousands upon thousands of new golden suns waiting to be born.

When I hold onto my joy too tightly I stop life from flowing. If I can breathe gently and welcome new seasons there is room for growth. Without the gift of impermanence there can be no change, no hope.

“Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.”

PS If you’d like to enjoy a meditation on impermanence I enjoy this one from the Plum Village app.