Impermanence is one of the unalterable marks of conditioned existence. Let’s just call it change. It’s an awareness practice that’s always at hand. We can appreciate how different each moment is from the moment before. Conditions change and condition what follows. Sometimes the differences are minute, sometimes profound. Whether it’s the temperature, or sounds that we hear at this moment, or the daily flow of tasks to be done, or a mood that comes on us unexpectedly when we get a phone call or text. Each moment brings change, so in practice we’re paying attention to it.
Some changes may not matter to us, like if a new neighbor moves in down the block. Some changes matter a great deal, like if we receive a diagnosis that’ll affect the quality of life of someone we love, or our own. Impermanence is so much the fiber of our experience that we don’t even note it most of the time. Except when we like it or don’t like it. When it undermines our own plans. To take a close look at impermanence is one ordinary way to help develop equanimity. Being steeped in a steady awareness of change can help us maintain our balance during times of enormous change.