Cycles

The idea of birth and death and rot and regeneration as being two sides of the same coin are lodged pretty firmly in my mind.

One of the coolest times in the mountains is the spring, when the snow is melting and everything is muddy and rocky and soggy. There is a smell of dampness in the air, and you can see where trees rotted and fell over in the winter. A lot of things are dead, but this won’t last. It won’t be long before there is a layer of green everywhere, and flowers start to bloom and new life takes root.

The cycle of birth and death are intricately connected. They roll on and on and on, one leading to the other.

It’s been this way for a very long time, and will be this way for even longer. Way before us, way after us. Much, much bigger than us.

We can see this in our lives as everything that ends is the beginning of something else.

Things that have reached the end of their time pass away if we let them, and something new moves in to take their place. We exist within and because of this cycle of birth and death, rot and regeneration. It’s only a problem if we are trying to hang on to things that are cycling out, things that time have passed.

One day it will be our turn. Keeping this in mind changes the way we see everything.