Index
1. Introduction
This world is impermanent and everything is constantly changing. We are beings who live in this flow of change and evolve our selves. However, understanding and adapting to this impermanent world requires the challenge of continually renewing the self. It begins with reevaluating our values and thought patterns.
There is no world in which nothing remains the same. And while facing this change is sometimes difficult, it is the path to growth and true freedom. In this article, we offer insights and specific techniques for surviving the impermanent world.
2. The World of Impermanence and Understanding It
Impermanence is the law of the world that things are always changing and never stay the same. The events and relationships we experience every day, as well as our own minds and bodies, undergo change over time. Accepting and understanding this fact is the foundation for better understanding things and acting appropriately.
The concept of impermanence has been particularly emphasized in Eastern thought and philosophy, but the same is true from a Western scientific perspective. Physics states that energy is constantly changing and moving over time. In biology, the cells of our bodies are constantly being renewed and the old ones eliminated. In other words, our very existence is a symbol of impermanence.
Understanding the world of impermanence means understanding the polarity of life – life and death, happiness and suffering, success and failure – and finding the self within it. With this understanding, we can find more effective strategies to meet life’s challenges and become stronger, wiser, and freer.
An understanding of impermanence is also important for coping with the rapid changes of our time. Our lives are changing in new ways every day, as technology evolves, economies fluctuate, and societies transform. The ability to accept impermanence and adapt to its flow will be an important skill for survival in the coming age.
Furthermore, an understanding of impermanence will help us deepen our compassion for self and others. Knowing that everything changes broadens our perspective and allows us to have understanding and empathy for the suffering and challenges of others. In this way, an understanding of impermanence becomes a means for us to live more deeply and more humanly.
3. The Limits of “Common Sense” Against Change
In the course of our lives, we learn and follow a number of “common sense” rules that facilitate our social life. They become social rules and general knowledge that guide our daily choices and actions. However, these “common sense” are based on the assumption that they are essentially unchanging, or in other words, constant.
On the other hand, our world is constantly changing. Social trends, scientific and technological advances, fluctuations in the natural environment, changes in personal values, and countless other factors are constantly changing. In other words, the world in which we exist is “impermanent,” and these things are constantly moving, changing, and evolving.
Therefore, when “common sense” dictates our actions and thoughts, it can create difficulties and stress in the opposite direction. We can get caught up in past successes and fixed beliefs and miss new possibilities. In addition, if society as a whole acts based on old common sense, it may not be able to respond appropriately to new problems. This is especially true in today’s rapidly changing technology and environment.
Such phenomena point to the “limits of common sense. It is important to recognize this limitation and have flexible thinking to adapt to the impermanent world. It refers to the flexibility to constantly reevaluate one’s own thinking and incorporate new perspectives and information, without being caught in a fixed point of view. It is the ability to be fluid like water and adapt to any shape.
Understanding the limits of common sense is also an important step in understanding how we ourselves should behave as part of society or how society functions. The ways in which we shape, influence, and are adversely affected by society change over time. Therefore, our ability to understand and adapt to those changes is essential to our ability to build a better future.
In conclusion, to live in a world of impermanence, we need a flexible mindset that is not bound by “common sense” and evolves itself with change. This will enable us to find more effective and creative solutions to the new challenges and problems we and our society face.
4. Ego and Impermanence: The Evolving Self
The ego is the part of consciousness that provides the basis for each individual’s perception of self and the world. It serves to understand and integrate the unique characteristics of each individual, including one’s own body, thoughts, feelings, and actions, into a coherent whole. However, the ego is not fixed; it should be constantly changing and evolving.
As we grow and gain experience, the ego changes and evolves with it. The ego is continually renewed by new experiences, information, and changing values. This is a necessary process for us, who live in a world of impermanence, to maintain our own existence and to continue to adjust our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with the world.
In order to evolve the self in an impermanent world, it is important to understand and accept the dynamic nature of the ego, rather than viewing it as fixed. Instead of being stuck in the ego of the past or the ego expected by others, we must continue to explore the ego of the present and future. This is an important step in self-understanding and personal growth and provides an opportunity to redefine one’s self-worth and purpose.
Each human being can maximize his or her own potential through self-evolution and transformation. It is a process of building a new relationship between the ego and the world through individual experiences, learning, and challenges. By embracing the impermanent world and evolving the self within it, life can have greater depth and richness.
Finally, a deeper understanding of ego and impermanence fosters the ability to adjust one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions and to face the world in a more adaptive and creative way. This allows individuals to overcome new challenges and difficulties, expand their own potential, and have a greater impact as individuals and as part of society.
5. Freedom from Common Sense: Acting While Imperfect
Common sense provides guidelines for our behavior and thinking as members of society, but it can also limit our actions and decision-making and hinder individual self-expression and creativity. This is especially evident when trying new ideas and approaches in an impermanent and changing world.
We often seek the perfect solution, insisting on considering all possibilities and having all the information in place. However, this is a constraint from the perspective of common sense, and in a world of impermanence, we must try, learn, and adapt new ideas and approaches.
Acting while imperfect is an important step toward liberation from common sense and personal evolution. It means the process of initiating action, getting feedback, learning, and adapting, even when there is no perfect solution to a situation or problem.
Through this process, we expand our capabilities and knowledge of self, discover new perspectives and methods, and redefine our relationship to self and the world. It also allows for the evolution of the ego and freedom of self-expression.
Finally, freedom from common sense and action, while imperfect, provides new perspectives and methods for individual challenges and difficulties. It allows us to expand our own potential and to act freely on the basis of our own goals and values.
6. Living a Life of Enjoying Impermanence: Breaking Free from the Generalist
Living as a generalist is characterized by a broad and diverse range of knowledge and skills, which is especially useful in a world of impermanence. However, to truly embrace and enjoy impermanence, we need to go beyond the generalist.
Breaking away from the generalist means not sticking to a consistent specialty or role, but rather evolving oneself through new experiences and learning, and increasing one’s ability to assume the most appropriate role at any given moment.
This involves accepting the limitations of the self and moving from the known to the unknown, from stability to change. In the process, we develop new perspectives and skills, strengthening our own flexibility and adaptability.
Breaking away from the generalist also emphasizes embracing the diversity and impermanence of the self. It allows for a more inclusive and multifaceted understanding of the self through the recognition of different aspects of the self, which complement and cooperate with each other.
Such an approach is key to enjoying the changes in self and the world and making the most of one’s role within it. It allows us to enjoy living in an impermanent world, rediscovering and evolving our self within it.
7. How to Deal with Anxiety about the Future
One of the reasons we feel anxious about the future is that we have been taught to “follow the rails and not deviate from the norm,” as if we have been brainwashed by education and society. This has narrowed our perspective and made us only conscious of the risks we face.
By fostering psychological flexibility, we can break this pattern of thinking. Psychological flexibility refers to the ability to freely change patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior. This allows us to adapt our reactions to unknown events.
At the same time, it is important to develop self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to a sense of belief in one’s own ability to overcome difficulties and challenges. This increases confidence, promotes action, and reduces stress.
Thinking excessively about the future can actually be a waste of time. The future is changeable and unpredictable. Therefore, it is important to focus on the here and now and live in the present to the best of our ability rather than bothering to spend time trying to predict the future.
Ultimately, it is important to develop a sense of purpose. This allows us to find meaning and direction for our lives, even in the face of uncertainty about the future.
Because the future is unknown, we can find ways to maintain stability and contentment of self in an impermanent world by living each present moment to the best of our ability.
8. Knowing and Adapting to Impermanence in the Flood of Information
Today’s society is in a situation that can be described as a flood of information. This allows us to take in more information at a moment’s notice, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the impermanent world.
On the other hand, in an age of information overload, we must be able to sort through the information and determine what is important and what is not. This allows us to avoid being distracted by useless information, to discern truly valuable information, and to hone our adaptability to survive in an impermanent world.
The skill of sorting information involves the ability to evaluate information from diverse sources and verify its truthfulness and reliability. By improving this ability, one can select accurate and useful information without being misled by false or misinformed information.
And adaptive capacity is the ability to take advantage of the flood of information and seek and develop strategies to adapt to a changing environment. This implies the ability to quickly integrate new information and act on it.
To understand and adapt to impermanence in an information flood, we must hone both our information-sorting skills and our adaptive capacity, and as a result, improve our ability to survive in an impermanent world.
9. In summary: How to embrace impermanence and achieve freedom
Throughout this article, we have explored in depth the following themes: impermanence and understanding the impermanent world; ego and impermanence: the evolving self; freedom from common sense: acting imperfectly; enjoying impermanence: breaking free from generalist thinking; how to face uncertainty about the future; and knowing and adapting to impermanence in a flood of information. I have been exploring in depth the themes of knowing and adapting to impermanence in the flood of information.
Impermanence means that everything is constantly changing. It is present in all aspects of our lives, shaping the rhythms of the natural world and influencing our lives. Sometimes these changes are rapid and unpredictable, but that is the beauty of life.
Accepting impermanence is the key to affirming our personal growth and change, to shedding our fear of the future, and to attaining a free mind. It is about recognizing that we will always live with change, adapting to it, and cultivating the ability to maximize our own potential.
However, accepting impermanence is not an easy task. Especially in the modern society in which we live, there is a tendency to try to anticipate and control change. Such attempts, however, only cause more stress and anxiety and do not lead to true freedom.
To attain freedom, we need to be able to select the right information in the flood of information and use that information to evolve ourselves and learn to adapt to an unknown future. The ability to select and adapt to information is an important tool for survival in an impermanent world.
In addition, society is facing an age of information overload. While we are inundated with information, it is important to understand that this does not necessarily imply knowledge or understanding. We need to be able to filter information effectively and extract knowledge that is truly valuable.
Finally, as we live in a world of impermanence, the relationship between self and others is also impermanent. Accepting this impermanence and following our own unique path without comparing ourselves to others leads to true freedom and growth.
When we are free from comparing ourselves to others, we are free to pursue our own path. This leads to increased self-esteem, improved relationships, and the energy to create a better future.