Change is continuous. Day by day, one season slips into the next. Day turns into night and night to day. Buildings don't suddenly grow old; rather, second by second, from the moment they're constructed, they begin to deteriorate....Think of beings inhabiting this universe. How many people born a hundred years ago are still alive?... We see the play of impermanence in our relationships as well. How many of our family members, friends, people in our hometown, have died? How many have moved away, disappearing from our lives forever? ... At one time we felt happy just being near a person we loved. Just to hold that person's hand made us feel wonderful. Now maybe we can't stand him, don't want to know anything about him. Whatever comes together must fall apart, whatever once fathered must separate, whatever was born must die. Continual change, relentless change, is constant in our world.

-- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche