Impermanence
I like searching the internet for new meal recipes and I found one over the weekend and cooked it last night. It was really good, although I’m not sure I got the sauce quite right. Next time …
As I was reading user reviews of the recipe, I came across a back-and-forth between people who were debating the health benefits of heavy cream and coconut milk. In the midst of the exchange, one of the heavy cream fans chimed in and wrote: “We’re here for a good time, not a long time.”
I understood. Use the heavy cream. Enjoy yourself. We’re not going to be here forever. Which leads me to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, a favorite vacation spot of my family’s for decades.
My wife’s grandmother built a small place a couple blocks off the ocean in Rehoboth in the 1950s. It was a place enjoyed by my wife, her siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles for many years. It has been similarly enjoyed by following generations, including myself and our own daughter.
Long story short, the house was sold last fall and torn down by the new owner earlier this year. This isn’t uncommon in Rehoboth. The older, smaller homes get torn down and replaced by much larger, modern houses. Not sure I’d call it progress but, of course, I’m not impartial. We were fortunate to have one final stay there last summer before it was sold.
We had planned to go back out to the Rehoboth area (Lewes, to be exact) earlier this summer, but COVID-19 intervened and we ended up cancelling.
Lately I’ve really been missing our mostly annual trip out there. The old house. The beach. The boardwalk. The restaurants. Just the general vibe of the place. You really felt like you were on vacation out there. I hope we’ll get back one of these days.
Missing Rehoboth has made me think of impermanence. Buddhism, Hinduism, ancient Greek philosophy. They all agreed that one of the essences of life was impermanence, the notion that nothing stays the same. Favorite vacation spots get torn down and replaced.
The concept of impermanence is important because it can serve as a reminder to experience and enjoy our lives as much as we can now. Carpe diem. You never know when you’ll get another chance to do whatever it is you’ve been planning or dreaming about.
Impermanence does, indeed, mean we’re not going to be here forever. So love. Forgive. Try something new. Reinvent yourself. Take the vacation. Be bold. And use the heavy cream (at least once in a while).