All of us live with the unsettling reality that at some point, our life will cease to be as we know it. We know in our bones: no matter how good, beautiful, true, or exciting a thing or state of affairs is here below, it is destined to pass into nonbeing.
Think of a gorgeous firework that bursts open like a giant flower and then, in the twinkling of an eye, is gone forever. Everything is haunted by nonbeing; everything, finally, is that firework. St. Augustine once said that since every creature is made ex nihilo, it carries with it the heritage of nonbeing. There is a kind of penumbra or shadow of nothingness that haunts every finite thing.
This is not meant to depress us; it is meant to redirect our attention to what truly matters. We are to focus on the treasures of heaven and to the eternity of God. Once we see everything in light of God, we can learn to love the things of this world without clinging to them and without expecting too much of them. Think of how much disappointment and heartache we could avoid if we learn to live in this truth!
What attachment do I need to surrender?
Thank you, Lord, for always drawing me towards what matters.
Smitten With Goodness 