“Like a sand castle, all is temporary. Build it, tend it, enjoy it. And when the time comes, let it go.” Jack Kornfield
When I was 30 days sober I came across this quote on my Calm app, during my daily meditation, which I highly recommend when you are trying to get your mind and your self to a different place. The subject was impermanence. The passage of time is our greatest reminder of transience. We appreciate things because they are beautiful and bring us joy…a blooming flower, a newly tidied house, a sunset, a bird song, a new manicure…but they don’t last. We have a limited amount of time here on Earth; our very lives are sandcastles. We are to build them, tend them, and enjoy them until the day we have to let them go.
I feel like I am finally becoming aware of that and am trying to appreciate daily beauty and “tend” a life of purpose, taking care of myself so that I can care for others. Drinking puts a cloudy veil over your life and experiences. It erases moments instead of allowing you to experience or cherish them. It robs us of time, awareness and joy. When I built my life around wine, my sandcastle was slowly crumbling. I’m so grateful that I woke up in time to re-build, tend and enjoy it before I have to let it go.