I love the idea of cycles brought up by htebsiL radnalaS. This makes so much sense to me, and helps me enormously in dealing with the ups and downs of my life, especially in coping with the downs. The idea of cycles relates to the idea of impermanence in all of our lives.

I recently read an interview with Toni Bernhard on PC, and she discusses the idea of impermanence. At its core, impermanence is understanding that the ups and downs of your life are impermanent, they are constantly coming and going. So, if you are having a terrible night where you want the pain in your head to stop, or if you are having a terrible day where you have no motivation, those moments, those days are passing and fleeting.

I have accepted the idea of impermanence into my life, and I now live with a bit more peace and calm. However, this does not mean that I do not continue to struggle with days where I am feeling down. I just look at that as the natural cycle of my life. A down day comes, a down day goes, and maybe tomorrow I'll be okay. And if I'm not, then I look for at least one minute of peace and calm.

I know I've set my standards for peace, calm, and happiness low, but considering my situation, I feel that achieving one minute of peace a day is a huge achievement for myself, and anyone for that matter.

Thank you htebsiL radnalaS for writing about cycles. I hope that welcoming cycles and impermanence into a way of living helps us all cope with the difficulties that we are currently facing. And I hope this boosts all of our motivation levels this week!