Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Being in contact with life in the present moment, we observe deeply what is." (At this moment of writing, something brown moves outside the window on the bright desert floor. A javelina! Two javelina! And three babies!! Now here's another grownup and two tiny, tiny babies!! How can they even walk, and also run, these adorable little ones? And so quickly, the javelina are out of sight among the creosote and brittle bush and young palo verde trees. I hope I see them again. I might sit at the window all day, just in case.)

"Impermanence and selflessness are not negative aspects of life but the very foundations on which life is built," Thich Nhat Hanh continues. "Impermanence is the constant transformation of things. Without impermanence, there can be no life. Selflessness is the interdependent nature of all things. Without interdependence, nothing could exist. Without the sun, the clouds, and the Earth, the tulip could not be."

Somehow Thich Nhat Hanh's wisdom comforts me. Facing impermanence can feel daunting. Embracing interdependence, or "interbeing," as he sometimes calls it, can draw us even now into eternal participation in realm upon realm.

Thank you, Thich Nhat Hanh. "Looking deeply into a rose, we can see its impermanent nature quite clearly. At the same time, we can still see its beauty, and value its preciousness.... The more fragile something is, the more beautiful and precious it is--for example, a rainbow, a sunset, a cereus cactus flowering by night, a falling star.... Living in the present moment, we are able to be in touch with life's wonderful, refreshing, and help-giving phenomena, which allows us to heal the wounds in ourselves. Every day, we become more wonderful, fresh, and healthy."

These quotations are selected from "The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh," pages 66-70, a section called "Deep Seeing."