The Mirror of Impermanence

Mirabai held deep awareness that all attachment—to beauty, to relationships, to comfort—contained the seeds of loss. She did not cling; she loved fiercely and let go. The Mirror of Impermanence is a contemplative practice of regularly meditating on the transient nature of civilizations, empires, and ways of life. All have risen and fallen. Ours will too. Rather than generating despair, this practice can generate humility and presence. When we truly accept that our civilization's forms are temporary, we stop defending them obsessively. We can feel our love for what's beautiful about our world without being arrested by denial of its fragility. We can grieve more freely, less defensively. The Mirror of Impermanence is also a source of compassion: understanding that other peoples and cultures have endured civilizational loss helps us meet our own with dignity. Following Mirabai's example of loving what was never meant to last, we access a paradoxical freedom: the more we acknowledge impermanence, the more present and grateful we can be for what exists now.