Impermanence

The nature of the universe is change.  Nothing in nature, in the physical world, lasts forever.    

Yet in God we are promised eternal life, we are told in the Gospel of John that Christ existed before the world with God.  In the face of constant change it appears the only constant is God. 

When we engage in community we have to remember that it is in our human nature to try and hold onto things, to disregard the nature of the universe, to ignore the inevitability of change.    Although traditions and a link to the past are important, holding on to the past to tightly can be dangerous and even destructive.  We witness it in many mainline churches today, shrinking numbers, empty pews, yet there is still a resistance to change.  

For those on the left handed path, we are in a unique position to remind those on the right handed path of the nature of the universe, of the constant of change.  We should be careful not to destroy the faith of those on the right handed path, for this can be easy.  But we must be willing to hold their hand as they face change, remind them of the importance of their work.  

It can be like a dance, a dancer's art exists in specific moments, it exist in the movements, in the smells, in the viewers of the dance.  In reality all things are like this, everything only exists for a moment, but is it still beautiful no matter what, even if the dance only lasts a few moments, the beauty of it will remain in memory.   The church that existed will remain beautiful in the eyes of history, yet we must be willing to acknowledge its impermanence.  Change is scary, if nothing else we can offer comfort.