The fundamental tenant of Buddhism is that the world is an illusion. Beneath our own fears and fantasies, the world we dwell in is pure emptiness. Nothing lasts. It is only when we realize the transience of being, the essential nothingness that is the whole of existence that we can begin to break free of the endless cycle of reincarnation and fear. Note, however, that acknowledging the impermanence of being does not acknowledge the emptiness of right action and right thought. Though the world may be nothing but illusion, Buddhism asserts that we must yet work and be in this world, and act in the right as yet.
Existentialism follows the same line of thought, emphasizing the absurdity of the world, and the chaos of the world, rather than the illusion of it. Meaning, in existentialism, is the agent of impermanence; only our conscious making of meaning can assert any notion of permanence to our world, and assert our actions in it as right.
Modern science asserts impermanence as the essential state of the universe, as entropy. Entropy is part of the second thermodynamic law which states: the total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time, approaching a maximum value. This means that entropy will either stay the same, or increase. It will never decrease. It also implies that all states of high order will eventually move to lower states of order, to disorder.
In essence, the universe, as a considered whole, is moving along the arrow of time, and is falling to disorder every second. Nothing, indeed, lasts.
Though it is difficult for me to accept the notion that there is nothing to the world, in my more cynical moments, this fact is so apparent to me, it’s even more difficult for me to believe in the opposite conviction that there is absolute meaning, and being, to the world. It is often far easier for me to take a more existentialist view in combination with the Buddhist view–there is nothing to the world, and there is, therefore, no meaning to it at all–than it is for me to believe that I can create a meaning, that I can still do right.
The notion of impermanence is perhaps native to a non-theistic philosophy like Buddhism, though it certainly finds a unique and vibrant place in the polytheism of Hinduism, where even the gods cannot live forever. However, I feel that in most theistic religions, there is a certain reality, though beyond our perception, which is permanent (or at least, as lasting as our lives may be) and that reality is what gives meaning to our existence, to our world, and to our actions in it.
In my own relationship with Brighid and my journey through Seanchas Fior, I find permanence in Brighid, and in the power of the story. And yet, these two things have their own impermanence. I know that Brighid is not immortal (I don’t think any god truly is immortal), and the permanence of story itself is an illusion: in our telling, the words disappear into air; in our writing, the pages will eventually dissolve. In our seeking, and in our finding, and in our making, stories will be forgotten, lost and or abandoned.
Yet, I have no choice but to make these essential elements the basis of my own actions, and my own meaning. Otherwise, I would probably give up entirely.
Emotions fade quickly. My body is decaying as we speak. Even the very (immortal?) essence of my being is held by the hands of Brighid, and by the words of all stories. Even the Fire that burns within the Pearl in me will fade, hopefully to return to the greater Fire. But maybe even, though I can’t say, the Fire at the Heart of the World will burn away entirely.
All things will fade, and that, surprisingly, gives me great comfort. One of my favourite phrases to repeat to myself, in all times of hurt, or pain or hopelessness, is “Nothing lasts.” I know that if given the choice, I would not make anything last forever: not human life, not the gods, not the Multiverse: all things must rest, in the end. All things deserve to rest.
And so, instead of taking action, and meaning, into my own hands and acting as though what I do will last forever, it is my goal to act in the full knowledge that nothing lasts. Impermanence is the essence of the multiverse, and is the unspoken essence of the work I do in An Seanchas Fior. I know my words will one day be gone; maybe distantly, Brighid herself will be gone. It is my goal to act in this knowledge, and yet act in the hope that that day isn’t here yet, and that there is time enough yet. Time enough for me, for my words, for my Lady’s work to make a difference, even if only for a small time. Nothing lasts, because everything rests, eventually, but I am not yet allowed to rest.
