I threw my sunglasses on the ground and watched them shatter. My brother had just spent all day helping me fix my car in brutal heat—again—and when we took it for a test drive, there was a loud squealing sound. My brain panicked. I hadn't slept well in days. I'd just quit smoking weed to stop numbing myself. I was behind on rent and bills. And I lost it. Threw my favorite sunglasses—the ones I'd done thousands of deliveries with—onto the pavement and watched them break.So much for being the centered podcast guy talking about peace.This episode is about impermanence—how everything you love is dying, changing, or already gone. My son moved out last year and I walk past his empty room every day. I still cry about it. Two of my best friends from poker nights—Chris on his motorcycle and Pat who welcomed me into the crew—both died suddenly. My rent went from $1,100 to $2,400. My insurance went from $80 to $350. I totaled a car with a brand new motor by driving through a rain puddle. Financial stability I'd enjoyed my whole life just vanished.The Buddha's first great insight after enlightenment: "All that has the nature to arise also has the nature to cease." Everything changes. Your body, your relationships, your job, your kids, your spiritual highs—all of it. And we spend our lives either clinging desperately or running from this truth.Two mornings ago during Vipassana meditation, I finally let myself feel how much I miss my son. I'd been numbing the pain with cannabis since he moved out, sweeping it under the rug. When I quit, the grief came flooding up during my sit—and I sobbed. That's when I realized: I have to look at the bronze snake. I have to embrace the pain instead of fighting it.Featuring wisdom on Hebrew hevel (vapor, mist, breath—not vanity), Ecclesiastes' "a time to be born and a time to die," the bricklayer's accident (hilarious parable about clinging to the rope causing more pain), Ajahn Chah's beautiful teacup ("I see it as already broken, so I enjoy it incredibly"), Jesus on "those who try to save their life will lose it," Alan Watts on how your son "doesn't belong to you—he's the delegated adaptability of Tao," Vipassana practice (choiceless awareness, watching things arise and fall), virya (spiritual energy/courage), Star Trek's Nog hiding in the holosuite until Vic says "you've got to play the cards life deals you," Isaiah on "I am doing a new thing," and Rumi on "smile like the rose at loss and gain."We discuss: why remembering everything will die helps you live more vividly NOW, the difference between appreciating and clinging, how withdrawals should be embraced not confronted as enemies, why our culture worships youth and fears death (making life joyless), Jack Kornfield's teacher holding up the teacup saying "to me it's already broken," practicing with the puppy-dog mind that wanders during meditation, and why "you can't stop the waves but you can learn how to surf."The paradox: Yes, everything passes. But whatever leaves always makes room for what comes next. "Behold, I am making all things new."If you're terrified of losing what you love, clinging so hard it hurts, or numbing yourself to avoid facing impermanence—this one's for you. Let go, or you'll get rope burn.Want to share a thought?Support the show🔗 All links: https://linktr.ee/standingnowhere🎧 Listen on your favorite app💬 Join our community on Discord📩 Email: [email protected](Tap “Support the show” above to become a Patron — thank you!)

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