Subject to Change

 From the Middle Way Arcana, the Hermit; from the Vertical Oracle, Death:

Possibly driving some of the misunderstanding of retreat is a deep-seated fear of being alone without distraction, without entertainment, without ‘work,’ without other people around to constantly confirm our sense of self. —Reginald Ray

In all the noise and busyness of our lives, it's easy to forget that we are more than our roles and beliefs. The Hermit takes a break from the daily swirl to find quiet and stillness. He knows that we are not the identities our ego chooses to face the world with; we all have a luminous buddha nature within. We don't have to earn it, as it is ever-present. We just have to let go of our obsessive attachments (that we think define us) for it to appear. Death shows a door flying through a cyclone, symbolizing the constant change and transitions we undergo. If lose the abilities, things, or people who define us, who will we be? The Dhammapada says, “All conditioned* things are not-self. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”

[*Conditioned things are created when certain causes and conditions come together; their nature is to be impermanent because causes and conditions are always changing.]