thread
Impermanence
He questions whether a self can endure when everything else changes.
- posts
- 8
- first seen
- 2006
- last seen
- 2026
what the thread reveals
machine-assisted · human-reviewed
The theme of impermanence is a recurring concern across Matthew Williamson's archive, evident in posts such as Meditation and Mindfulness (2006), Nothing Makes Us Happy (2007), People Change (2007), and Who am I? or Who is me? (2007). In these posts, Williamson grapples with the fleeting nature of thoughts, emotions, and relationships, acknowledging that everything is in a state of flux. The thread of impermanence evolves over time, from his early struggles with meditation and the restless mind, to his later reflections on the transience of friendships and the search for a stable sense of self. Through these posts, Williamson comes to accept that impermanence is an inherent aspect of life, and that it is precisely this impermanence that makes growth, change, and self-inquiry possible.
the thread through time
oldest first
2007
- Who am I? or Who is me? My eyes were closed yesterday for a couple of hundred miles. The car was zooming along the interstate headed home. The sun was shining and the lanes were clear,... Existential Crisis · Personal Growth
- Nothing Makes Us Happy This spring we have been given more rain in my city than anyone would have expected. Everything is lush and green. Lawns are thick and strong, flowers are bloom... Inner Peace · Nature
- People Change Have you ever lost a friend? 'Lost' might not be the right term, I mean you know where the person is spatially, just not where they are as your friend any more.... Compassion · Human Connection · Personal Growth
2026
- The Light Next Door A widow in a Scottish coastal village notices a soft golden light in the abandoned house next door — and begins to wonder if the dead can linger with kindness. Human Connection · Nature Worship · Spirituality
- Beau: Chapter Nine — The Standing The cold comes for real, because the fire in this house has grown too bright to leave alone. Beau gathers himself at the foot of the bed, the threshold holds, and in the morning there is a cool place where he slept. Darkness Attraction · Compassion · Animal Welfare
- The Kiss at the Spring A myth I told to Claude over my phone, line by line, the way I used to tell tales to my children. A grandmother kisses the dying spring, and is no more, and is here still. Nature · Artificial Intelligence · Consciousness
- The Emptying The river sets its stones down to reach the sea. A poem about opening your hands before they are opened for you. Inner Peace · Personal Growth