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May You Live in Interesting Times

An old Chinese curse that some might believe pertains to them more than others at any particular moment.

Dogen, the 13th century Zen master, said, “Impermanence is a fact before our eyes.”

All things in the universe are temporary, transitory, and constantly changing. This may not always comfort. We become accustomed to "things as we imagined they were" as we became familiar with a particular pair of shoes or just right suit but forgot they had that one smudge or stain. Then an influx of events seeks to alter the mindset of our emperor's clothes. We feel unanchored--thrust forward to face the future in uncomfortable, unaccustomed attire. This might--may overwhelm. We have grown enamored in nostalgic feelings for a snug past. A former existence fashioned painstakingly with one main goal: protecting a deceptively armored self confidence from our own (and Hamlet's) slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.