Walking on the beach this weekend, my husband, Michael, looked at how the ocean gradually wore away the cliffs, and said it reminded him of how impermanent life is.

It’s easy to see impermanence in nature, the way the sand shifts with every tide, and how the water reflects the changes in the sky.

It’s more challenging to see impermanence in our self.

We often see our life through the lens of a permanent “me” traveling through time, and that same “me” sometimes acts as if change (the active ingredient in impermanence) is something to be feared, or put off until later.

We want change in the world (a fact that every politician knows all too well) yet we resist changing from within, sometimes holding onto old ways and beliefs long after they have lived their course.

The simple truth of change is also its value: if there were no change, there could be no evolution, and that would put an end to refinement, forgiveness, and the hope for a better tomorrow.

On the surface it appears that nothing lasts. This is true, unless you look deeper.

My relationship with Michael has lasted over 30 years. It has also changed, evolved, and been refined over time.

Maybe holding your best friend’s hand as you walk through the changing tides of life is what it’s all about.

Love lasts because it evolves.

We wish you the very best this Holiday and New Year.

Michael and Paulette