Tag Archives: Impermanence

FIVE WISE LINES [October 2025]

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Gwalior Fort on Gopachal Hill in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

I had better never see a book
than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit,
and made a satellite instead of a system.

ralph waldo emerson; The american scholar

Free should the scholar be, — free and brave.

Ralph waldo emerson; The American Scholar

If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is lethal.

Paulo coelho

What you’re supposed to do when you
don’t like a thing is change it.
If you can’t change it,
change the way you think about it.
Don’t complain.

Maya angelou

No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it’s not the same river
and he’s not the same man.

Heraclitus

PROMPT: Change

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Daily writing prompt
What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?
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If I can spark the occasional smile of amusement or trigger a line of thought once in a while, that’s enough. In the long run, it’s all dust. (That latter commentary was more on the thought-provoking than the amusing side of the equation.)

PROMPT: 30 Things

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Daily writing prompt
List 30 things that make you happy.
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1.) love; 2.) a glorious turn of phrase; 3.) discovery; 4.) walking; 5.) swimming; 6.) stumbling upon an interesting and / or novel idea; 7.) movement; 8.) travel; 9.) street food; 10.) quiet; 11.) health; 12.) recognition that when things are at their very worst, they must get better — because everything is impermanent; 13.) an intense stretch; 14.) Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass;” 15.) undiscovered country; 16.) the hanging moment; 17.) a mystery-laden world; 18.) a moment of flow; 19.) a mountain path; 20.) a clear stream; 21.) the way of non-adversariality; 22.) a thing stripped to its simplest form; 23.) the moment breath turns the tide; 24.) animals being animals; 25.) a brief instant of free fall; 26.) the recognition that something that used to cause me angst or fear no longer does; 27.) when body, movement, and the world fall into alignment; 28.) first contact with someplace / something new; 29.) connection; 30.) the first sign that the struggle is paying off.

PROMPT: Tattoo

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Daily writing prompt
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
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I have no use for any tattoo, anywhere, thank you very much.

I’ll leave it to the teens and twenty-somethings to believe there is some image or phrase that will always and forever capture their essence. I’ve been through too many versions of myself and came out accepting the Buddhist / Taoist notion that everything, everywhere [even the self — if there even is such a thing] is in constant flux.

PROMPT: 100-year-old

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Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
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Dear 100-year-old self,

In the unlikely event that we’re still alive, go play with the wolves. Let them have their meal, meager though it may be. We’ve had a good run, and – unless I miss my guess – are not feeling vigorous of either mind or body. If we are feeling vigorous of mind and body, please disregard until such time as it’s not true anymore. In said case, I’m very curious about what kind of scientific breakthrough occurred (or magic fountain we fell into,) and look forward to learning about that in due time.

Signed,

Your younger self, the one far more afraid of dementia & incontinence than of death-

PROMPT: Perspective

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Daily writing prompt
How do significant life events or the passage of time influence your perspective on life?
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I’m getting more at ease with Death by the day. In a broader sense, it’s progressively easier to not get worked up over the everchanging and unpredictable nature of the world.

Kailasa of Ellora [Blank Verse]

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They carved a temple in a mountainside,
   Cutting away all rock that wasn't temple,
 Chipping from the top down and outside-in,
   Until some domed stone segregated sky
 From inner sanctum and all its idols, 
   And it has stood over twelve hundred years,
 And it will surely stand twelve hundred more,
   But someday it'll be a mountain again.

PROMPT: Tattoo

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What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

I have no interest in tattoos. I’m with the Buddhists on “all is impermanence” and the idea that there is some message that would be poignant for the rest of my days seems silly and unlikely.

Plus I’ve seen so many bad ones: faces that look demented, Chinese characters that make no sense (and/or are upside-down or sideways.) So, no thanks.

PROMPT: Advice

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Daily writing prompt
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
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Eat more veggies, mind your joints, beauty is everywhere, all is impermanence, and very few things in life actually matter (see item 4.)

A Brief Catastrophe [Lyric Poem]

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Drifting down the river --
   No command nor control.
 See the water glimmer,
   Circling 'round a hole.

Then one's world drops out,
   And one's peace is gone.
 Everything is in doubt...
   'til you're spun out on the lawn.