Beauty is fleeting – and so are we

I took this photograph while I was doing my recent 40-day practice. I was struck by the beautiful pattern of indentations in the sand. They look a bit like tyre tracks but are entirely natural – made by the sea. I took a little video too as the light was playing along the ripples and looked quite magical.

The following day I went back to the same spot – to see if different light might give me another lovely picture. But no! The scene had completely changed – the sand was flat and dull. It seems that different currents produce different patterns in the sand on a daily basis – I never knew!

In a way, it is like a natural sand mandala. Like the Tibetan sand mandala I witnessed recently, made by patient monks, it symbolises impermanence. The sea creates it and then the sea washes it away.

And it reminded me that beauty is so fleeting, and for that matter so are we. Our lives go by in the blink of an eye (on the Earth's huge timescale at least). We are here and then we are gone. We must enjoy it while we can. Enjoy the beauty, bathe in the sunshine, swim in the sea, laugh with friends, drink tea, dance.... do whatever your heart is calling you to do. The heart is wise, so listen...

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