According to the Vedanta school of philosophy within Hinduism, there are five sources of suffering. All five sources are really contained within the first source: not knowing yourself. Not knowing yourself – your true nature – is the ultimate cause of suffering.
When we don’t know our true nature, we fear death and other things that aren’t real. We identify with our ego. We struggle against the moment. We become attached to that which is unreal and changing like possessions, people, and time.
This world is constantly changing. Becoming attached to something is very dangerous. Because, it will change. Everything will. Your house. Your friends. Your partner. Everything is changing. Your house won’t last forever. Your friends will fade away and/or die. Either you or your partner will die, ending your earthly relationship (and that’s if you are together for life). Everything is transient. The United States will one day be no more. All human life will vanish sooner or later.
But the existence of the human race doesn’t make or break the universe. The transient nature of this world makes it so beautiful. Knowing that nothing will last forever makes each moment more important. And there is comfort in knowing that our real nature – our true being – is beyond life and death. Things that have beginnings have endings. Being is beyond time. It’s on a different realm. The true you can not be extinguished.
For a brief period of time you have taken human form to observe yourself in a different way. Enjoy it. Take it all in. Experience yourself by experiencing life. Try different foods. Listen to music. Dance. Sing. Cry. Smell flowers. Have sex. Hug people more often. Dream. And most importantly, love. Love like the wind loves the waves. Love. Love. And love some more.
