Embrace Change and Strengthen Gratitude with 7 Meditations

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Embrace Change and Strengthen Gratitude: 7 Meditations on Impermanence

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Updated on:

January 13, 2021

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Our suffering in uncertain times arises from the mistaken presumption that things are permanent when they are not. Mindfulness practice familiarizes us with impermanence for greater stability and ease through inevitable times of change.

impermanence, Embrace Change and Strengthen Gratitude: 7 Meditations on Impermanence

“Impermanence and selflessness are not negative aspects of life, but the very foundation on which life is built. Impermanence is the constant transformation of things. Without impermanence, there can be no life.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh -

Mindfulness and Impermanence

Mindfulness is present moment awareness. When we become deeply aware of our present moment, one thing we notice is that it’s very hard to find. Our present moment and everything in it is constantly changing. Nothing in this world lasts forever, including us.

The realization that all is in flux can provoke anxiety, or we can use it to set ourselves free. It’s normal to fear losing our loved ones and all that we’ve attached to in this life, including ourselves. These attachments are strongest if we believe happiness comes from that which is outside of us. Our friends and family, our new car, our beautiful home, our job title and identity will all someday change. Anything we get is also something we’ll eventually lose.

When we’re trapped in attachment, impermanence leads to fear. Fear of loss may provoke the obsessive accumulation of more people, experiences, and things, or all sorts of unhealthy behaviors in which we try desperately to prevent the world around us from changing. Fighting the truth of impermanence is a losing battle that only leads to suffering. And when we simply forget the truth of impermanence, our surprise and disbelief causes us pain.

Mindfulness practice reminds us there is a better way. With mindfulness, we learn to embrace the fleeting nature of our experience. We recognize the futility of attachment, including attachment to our present moment situation. We realize there’s nothing unchanging we can grasp and hold on to.

By embodying this realization, we become free to let things go. By letting go of what we’re holding on to, we make ourselves available for something more.

“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.”

- Heraclitus -

The Positive Side of Impermanence

Impermanence is often viewed as an unfortunate truth. Something we have to live with despite the grief it causes. But the more deeply we explore impermanence, the more we realize it’s integral to our happiness and contentment.

Thanks to impermanence, we can grow. We don’t have to remain in our suffering forever. The truth that all things change means they’re capable of changing for the better. Our circumstances can change, and so too can the mind. The beauty is, neither one of these changes first. When we change how we think, perceive and feel, the world around us appears differently.

A wholehearted acceptance of impermanence can also be motivating. When we embrace the truth that there’s no telling how long we have here in our body, we’re inspired to make the most of our time. Ideally, we’re inspired to devote more time to our mindfulness practice. For it’s mindfulness that keeps us from forgetting the truth of impermanence. Living with this truth in mind each moment of every day keeps us present, grateful, joyful and content.

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

- Alan Watts -

7 Mindfulness Meditations to Help You Embrace Change

Impermanence doesn’t exist in the far-off future, it’s happening right now. Feelings such as awe, wonder and joy are made possible because there’s no moment just like this one. Meditation helps us go beyond an intellectual understanding of impermanence, and allows us to embrace it with our whole body.

Because everything within our awareness is fleeting, we can meditate on impermanence in infinite ways. You may find that one of the following meditations appeals to you more than the others. To strengthen gratitude and awareness of impermanence outside of meditation, use a journal to record your moments of awe, and note each thing in your life that’s changed for the better.

Begin each of the following meditations in a comfortable, quiet and safe place where you can be free from distractions. Sit with an upright, yet relaxed posture. Spend 1-3 minutes with your attention on the body, the breath or both. Begin the following contemplations with a settled and stable mind.

1. Mindfulness of the Breath

Breathe slowly and patiently in and out through your nose
Observe your breath, without judgment or self-criticism
Notice the fluidity of breath and breath’s continual movement
Each breath seems to have a beginning, and and end
And yet we trust completely in the cycle of breath
We don’t mourn or attach to the in breath as the exhale begins, nor vice versa
It’s only by letting go of each inhale and exhale, that we allow for the continuation of life
Rest in awareness of the impermanence of breath for as long as you’d like to
Explore what else you notice

Related Meditation: Noticing Movement through Breath

2. Mindfulness of the Body

Once established in a calm, seated meditation, reflect upon yourself as a baby
Recall how tiny you were, how helpless you were, and how little you knew of the world
Note how quickly you seemed to grow and change, day by day
Recall yourself as a toddler, a child, a teenager
Note how much has changed in your body alone, how much has changed in your mind
These changes are happening moment by moment, and you’re changing even now
Note how you have benefited from this growth in both body and mind
Rest in awareness of this growth and change for as long as you’d like to
Explore how this makes you feel about the future

Related Meditation: Mindfulness Body Scan for Wisdom

3. Mindfulness of Things

Once established in a calm, seated meditation, reflect upon an object in the room
Note how this object was once brand new. As it has aged, it has changed
Perhaps you can see the change, maybe you cannot
Imagine you could zoom in further, to see the atoms that make up this object
You would see that they are changing right now, continually in motion
Change is not something that happened in the past
Change is a process that’s occurring in the present
Not even physical, solid objects are permanent. They too, are changing
Rest in awareness of the impermanence of objects for as long as you’d like to
Explore how might change your relationship to things

Related Audio: Gratitude-Meditation

4. Mindfulness of People

Once established in a calm, seated meditation, reflect upon someone close to you
Was this person always close to you in this way?
Were they once a stranger, an enemy, or simply an acquaintance?
Note how your relationships with others are continuously changing
There may be someone with whom you once were close, but aren’t any longer
It’s equally possible someone currently unknown to you, or unliked by you, will become close to you and beloved
Rest in this awareness of the impermanence of relationship for as long as you’d like to
Might this awareness encourage you to extend more compassion to yourself and all others?

5. Mindfulness of Emotions

In a calm and stable seated meditation, reflect upon a (positive or negative) emotion
Has this emotion always been present, and have you always felt this way?
Turn towards this emotion, and learn more about where and what it is right now
Where is it in the body, or what shape does it take in the mind?
Does it have a size, a color, a temperature, or contour?
As you sit and observe this emotion, does any of this change?
Rest in awareness of your changing emotion for as long as you’d like to
How might this awareness help you become less reactive, less anxious, or more accepting?

Related Meditation and Worksheet: A New Perspective on Emotions

6. Mindfulness of Suffering

In a calm and stable seated meditation, reflect upon your current (physical or emotional) pain
Have you always felt this pain and hurt in this same way?
Turn towards your pain, and learn more about where and what it is right now
Where is it in the body, or what shape does it take in the mind?
Does it have a size, a color, a temperature, or contour?
As you sit and observe your pain, does it change?
Rest in awareness of the changing nature of your pain for as long as you’d like to
How might this awareness help you to let go, become less reactive, or more self-compassionate?

Related Meditation: Making Room for Pain or Discomfort

7. Mindfulness of Death

In a calm and stable seated meditation, reflect upon the preciousness of your life
(1) It is certain that you will someday die
Every living thing that comes into this life, will someday leave
(2) What’s not certain, is the time of your death
Anything can happen at any time
(3) At the moment of death, the only thing that can comfort you, will be your own mind
Your friends, family and loved ones cannot go with you
Your money, possessions or title won’t be of any use to you
Rest in awareness of each of the three prior points for as long as you’d like to
How might this awareness of the impermanence of your own life change the way you live?

Related Meditation: Impermanence Meditation

Related eBook: Deathless: The Path Through Mindfulness

“That which is impermanent attracts compassion. That which is not provides wisdom.”

- Stephen Levine -

About the author

Sara-Mai Conway

Sara-Mai Conway is a writer, yoga and meditation instructor living and working in Baja Sur, Mexico. In addition to online offerings, she teaches donation-based community classes in her tiny, off-grid hometown on the Pacific coast. She is a certified 500-hour Remedial Yoga and Applied Mindfulness Advanced teacher with Bodhi Yoga Spain under the Independent Yoga Network (UK).