Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
-- Robert Frost
I've always loved this poem by Frost. So short; such a simple structure. Yet it conveys such depth of experience. Frost's message reminds us of the Buddhist principle of impermanence. Just as the beautiful gold of dawn ends, so all conditioned things in this world end. This wonderful Thanksgiving day spent with family will end. Therefore, I am immensely thankful for the time I was able to spend with my family yesterday, and the time I will be spending with my fiance's family today.
1-Minute Contemplation: What do you take for granted? Said another way, what is there that you assume (often unconsciously) will last forever? Take a moment to identify something or someone in your life that you don't appreciate fully, and locate within you the assumption that must underlie such a lack of appreciation--that this thing or person will always be there. Find the experience within that will allow you to personally realize that this thing or person IS impermanent. Allow the unfettered thankfulness that you have been suppressing to arise naturally from your experience of impermanence.
I thank you, personally, for reading my blog.
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