On Impermanence

... from Chapter 3 Reflection and Change of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rimpoche

Usually we assume we must grasp in order to have that something
that will ensure our happiness. We ask ourselves: How
can we possibly enjoy anything if we cannot own it? How
often attachment is mistaken for love! Even when the relationship
is a good one, love is spoiled by attachment, with its
insecurity, possessiveness, and pride; and then when love is
gone, all you have left to show for it are the "souvenirs" of
love, the scars of attachment.

How, then, can we work to overcome attachment? Only by
realizing its impermanent nature; this realization slowly releases
us from its grip. We come to glimpse what the masters say the
true attitude toward change can be: as if we were the sky looking
at the clouds passing by, or as free as mercury. When mercury
is dropped on the ground, its very nature is to remain
intact; it never mixes with the dust. As we try to follow the
masters' advice and are slowly released from attachment, a great
compassion is released in us. The clouds of grasping part and
disperse, and the sun of our true compassionate heart shines
out. It is then that we begin, in our deepest self, to taste the
elating truth of these words of William Blake:

He who binds to himself a Joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
He who kisses the joy as it flies,
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.