I went to my niece’s wedding last weekend in Long Island, and I was struck with the emotional rollercoaster I was subjected to: happiness, nostalgia, excitement, and wistfulness…I believe all those emotions were, for one thing, impermanent, and also: related to our yearning for permanence. Our group talked today about these feelings of nostalgia and the comfort we take in remembering the past, all the while fearing the future. Is our fear of impermanence really just another story we tell ourselves?
Enjoy this beautiful essay by Alan Lightman: