Nothing is Permanent...!!!

“Nothing is permanent in life, if there be anything permanent in life it would be change because change is constant.”

All my life there have been some or the other changes, some great, some small. I have dreamed of some changes and dreaded over others. Change has brought peace plus anxiety to my life. I have been through the game of emotions while experiencing change and I have also learned to embrace it. We observe this at all levels. On a universal level, stars form and collapse. On a global level, continents shift and climates change. On a personal level, we observe the decay of our body, changes to our mind, relationships coming and going, our possessions wearing out.

It’s always good to define our priorities in life. By priorities I mean in terms of people. With time and seasons, people do change which is a bitter truth. Here, I don’t intend to talk about only others but also about myself; I also might have changed for many people. But does it really matter when people we were, so close to become just an acquaintance gradually? Yes, it does matter for a moment or two but life does move on and so does people in our lives. Priorities do keep changing and when we look back, we just have some faint memoirs to which we smile. Bygones are bygones! Who could ever do anything about it? We come across many ups and downs in life and that’s the way it is supposed to be. Everyone is there with us at our ups or let’s put it this way – we don’t really notice who are with us during the ups because we’re just so happy and content that we happen to overlook. During our downs things are not quite the same as that’s the time when we really need people to stand for us. The matter of fact is that those very people are the ones who are our friends in true sense and loves us unconditionally. It is just a process of making us stronger with time. If we just get going with the fact that nothing is permanent – be it the good times or the bad, life becomes heaps easier to live!

When we fail to acknowledge impermanence, we cling to things. We cling to our youth, to our health, to our relationships, and to our possessions. We cling to them as though they could provide lasting happiness, as though they will last forever. Eventually, reality intervenes. That to which we cling is taken from us, and we forced to face the truth of impermanence. Thus we have the pain of a stolen car, of an ended relationship, or the death of a loved one.

In reality, the pain associated with clinging arises even before these moments. The pain arises earlier in the form of fear. Deep down, we are already aware of the impermanence. Therefore, if we cling to something that is temporary, we live in fear of the day when it will be taken from us. We can have a much happier life if we instead realize and accept the impermanence of existence. We can see the futility of clinging to things, and instead learn to appreciate them while we have them, but without staking our happiness on them. This also helps us to make better decisions. When we understand that we will change, and that other people will change, then we can recognize when a fresh approach is needed.

Expecting and even anticipating change has brought stability to the way I live. I appreciate change as if it were a divine plan; in fact I believe it is. I know that all of life’s lessons could not be achieved if any one thing were to remain the same. I believe change occurs as part of a plan set in motion before the beginning of time. I believe all changes are a test and catapult to launch us forward onto the next phase of our existence.

We know deep down that nothing is permanent, yet we strive so very hard to achieve the same impermanent things. When we don’t achieve them, we are so disheartened forgetting that “nothing is permanent”!!!!!! That is the cycle of life!!!! 

I believe “Nothing is permanent, everything will change” and I am thankful for that!

Compassionate Consumerism...!!!

Compassionate Consumerism is the phenomenon of conscious purchasing of products and services that are believed to have been made compassionately i.e. with no harm or damage done to humans, environment etc. However, it is more commonly known as Ethical Consumerism and generally involves the ethical treatment of animals for products and services.

Unethical treatment of animals rose towards the beginning of the 20^th century and today animals are cruelly exploited for a variety of commercial ventures which include entertainment, cosmetics, personal care, household products, food as well as pet trade. To counter this, the purchase of products from ‘Green Label’ companies i.e., companies that do minimal or no harm to the environment, animals, etc. in the manufacturing of products, must be encouraged.

Illegal pet stores have cropped up all over the country to meet the demand of the middle and high class. Here keeping exotic animals as pets is very ‘in’ but unfortunately they are kept in a filthy and inhabitable environment and are treated merely as tools for profit. It is a despicable practice and must be prohibited.

The fashion industry is perhaps the most insensitive as every year more than 50million animals are killed in the name of ‘fashion’. Animals in slaughter houses and farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages. Fur farmers use the ghastliest and most inhuman killing methods available like suffocation, electrocution, gassing, and poisoning. There is no excuse for wearing animal products, as many fashionable and comfortable alternatives to fur, leather, silk, wool and fibers are available; the most popular being “Faux Fur’. This is any material made of synthetic fibers designed to resemble fur. It was first introduced in 1929 and has been commercially available since the 1950s. However its increasing popularity has been credited to its promotion by animal rights and animal welfare organization such as PETA. It has become increasingly trendy, so much so that celebrities have been seen sporting it on award ceremonies as closely scrutinized as the Oscars. It is a conscientious and compassionate alternative for fur.

Organizations such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals(PETA) operate under the simple principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment or use for entertainment. They educate policymakers and the public about animal abuse and promote an understanding of the right of all animals to be treated with respect. They focus primarily on the areas in which a large number of animals suffer the most.

PETA’s investigative work, public efforts, research, animal rescue operations, legislative work, special events, celebrity involvement and international media coverage have resulted in tremendous improvement in the quality of life for animals and have saved the lives of innumerable animals. These organizations are prime examples of why we need to stop.

“IN THE END I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADD THAT COMPASSION IS THE UNDERPINNING EMOTION OF HUMANS. IF ALL ACTIONS ARE BASED ON COMPASSION, THEN THE WHOLE WORLD CAN BE CHANGED, AND NOT TOO JUST IN TERMS OF ETHICAL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS”