During a recent heat wave on the East Coast (actually much of the country has been visited by this particular heat wave), people had a great deal of trouble coping. Electricity went out, elders died, people with pulmonary disease had trouble breathing, and most of us were just generally uncomfortable. This morning, as I write this experiment, the heat wave has broken and it’s a beautiful, sunny summer’s morning.

Looking out at the clear blue sky, and feeling air that is free of oppressive humidity, I’m keenly aware of the inevitability and constancy (if I can say that) of change. I’m aware again, on a vividly physical level, of the fact that nothing stays the same, nothing continues as it was, everything will be different at some point along the way.

All this got me to thinking about what it’s like to hold the idea more consciously in mind that things will inevitably change. For example, if something is irritating or scary, what would it be like to engage it with the conviction that it won’t stay that way. If something is uncomfortable, what would your experience be if you knew for sure that the discomfort was temporary, whatever “temporary” might mean in that particular case? Even when there’s chronic pain, which is such a challenging source of suffering for so many people, the experience isn’t exactly the same in every moment. The process changes so that sometimes the pain is worse and sometimes not quite as bad.

And, it’s not just the bad stuff that will change. Notice what it’s like when you remember that the good stuff is also transitory. Remembering that good things change, as well, is a constant invitation to savor and really enjoy those present moments that are a pleasure to experience. While these moments live on in our memory, and can become sources of nourishment and inspiration later, they will inevitably move out of our immediate physical experience at some point in time. So, recalling that change is inevitable becomes a powerful invitation to engage the good things in life with our whole being and full awareness.

And so, for this week, I invite you to be more conscious than you might normally be that change is inevitable and notice what you experience. For example, you might notice that you become more relaxed in the presence of distress, or you might become more tense in the presence of good things because you know they will eventually change. Be sure to allow and invite mixed feelings and to remember that there is nothing inherently wrong with change. It’s just the way things are. We’re challenged by it when we engage change as something that shouldn’t be, so our relationship with its inevitability offers us ongoing opportunities to be conscious and present to our experience of what is.

Also, notice what it’s like to recognize that one thing that doesn’t change, in the sense of inevitably moving on or shifting to something else, is your awareness. It’s a constant presence and you can learn to rely on that constancy more and more, as you may already have discovered in your other practices.