Impermanence and Perseverance

[aclokay]

I've started this post by introducing the point I'm at in my career, but then saw the opportunity for a more abstract topic. 

What is it that makes you persevere, commit, be loyal when you have realized that everything is impermanent? 

Why not let go and change your career? your spouse? diet? language? location? why do you ever commit or get married?

[LastThursday]

Do you climb Mount Everest for a trophy or for the experience?

[Leo Gura]

Consistency is important if you care about getting good at anything.

Otherwise you're just a dabbler. Hard to make any deep impact in the world as a dabbler.

Pick a thing and master it.

Hard to make money when you aren't a master of anything.

[mandyjw]

Because it feels good. Commitment allows you freedom in other areas in life. Committing to my marriage, job and location has given me security, which in turn means freedom, time and space to experience the things I love. I'm more interested in exploring nature, creativity, meditation and spirituality and the little things around me than experiencing other places and people. I can be married to the same man my entire life and never really know him. I can live in the same little town and never fully explore the entire space or get to know all the people living in it. I can do the same job and never fully master it. Mystery is inherent in life, if you feel stuck or bored you aren't looking deep enough. Wherever you go, whoever you sleep with, whatever you do, there you are. 

It's like the sand mandalas the monks make, there's something beautiful about making something incredible, knowing that it's just going to exist for a short time. If I knew everything I build or did was permanent, I'd be too concerned about my legacy to have full freedom to create. 

[ivory]

Yeah man, I went through a stage where it seemed pointless to do anything because nothing lasted. I'm past that now. You may go through a nihilistic-like period where you feel like nothing matters. In the end you get depressed and realize that you need the world to sustain you. We have needs. So, you engage with the world, but more light-heartedly and with less attachment. Why not attached? Because nothing lasts. Oh no.