Gratitude & Growth

Everything is Temporary—And That’s a Beautiful Thing

I spent so much of my life trying to hold on—gripping tightly to moments of joy, fearing their end, and resisting the difficult ones, desperate to make them go away. But here’s the truth I’ve come to realize: nothing lasts forever. Not the highs, not the lows. Not the certainty, not the chaos. Life itself is fleeting. And rather than resisting this truth, I’ve learned to embrace it. Because when I did, everything shifted.


We Suffer Because We Forget This Truth

Real talks: the root of suffering isn’t the experience itself, but our attachment to it. We hold onto happiness with clenched fists, dreading the day it will fade. We resist discomfort, refusing to let it move through us. But impermanence isn’t the enemy—it’s what allows life to be dynamic, to change, to evolve. It’s what makes growth possible. The Buddhists talk about this, so many different spiritual teachings talk about this, and I always understood it from an intellectual place, but something finally clicked and it made sense to me from an embodied place.

When I stopped clinging and resisting, I started to experience life as it truly is: fluid, ever-changing, and full of opportunity. The thing is: when we accept impermanence, we ultimately free ourselves from unnecessary suffering and open the door to a peace and presence that is beyond the understanding of the analytical mind.

How Impermanence Shapes Our Perspective

Every moment we experience is shaping us. Each challenge we face teaches us something new – about ourselves, about others, about the world. And each joyful experience reminds us of life’s beauty. By embracing the truth that everything is temporary, we can:

  • Let go of past regrets and future worries
  • Fully experience the present moment
  • Cultivate gratitude for all of life’s experiences

Rather than seeing impermanence as something to fear, I now see it as a reason to appreciate everything more deeply.

Nature Already Knows This

I learn most of life's truths from studying nature. The ocean doesn’t fight the tide—it rises and falls effortlessly. The wind doesn’t resist its direction—it moves as it’s meant to. The seasons don’t cling to what was—they shift, allowing new growth to emerge.

We are nature too, by the way. But somewhere, somehow, we forgot how to flow. Instead of trusting the natural rhythm of our lives, we grasp at permanence, at what we think we have, trying to control what isn’t meant to be held onto. And when we do that, we rob ourselves of the greatest gift: the present moment.

By reconnecting with nature’s wisdom, I’ve reminded myself that change is natural. Just like the trees let go of their leaves in autumn, we too really can learn to release what no longer serves us and trust in what’s to come. Yes—it's definitely a habit to build, and it takes repetition and consistency just like any work you do on yourself. But it is possible to just move along with life as it brings you things. It is possible to not cling or resist.

The Cost of Clinging to What Must Change

Here's the thing, there is a cost to our clinging: when we grip too tightly to joy, we live in fear of losing it. We don't actually live in the joy. Most of the time we think "what happens if this goes away?" When we resist pain, we prolong our suffering; we stay stuck in the pain because we aren't allowing ourselves to actually release it, so we keep it alive by feeding it more attention and energy. Clinging keeps us trapped in the past. Resisting keeps us stuck in fear.
But what if we allowed everything to move through us? What if, instead of fighting life’s natural rhythm, we softened into it?
  • Joy? Feel it fully—without the fear of its end.
  • Pain? Let it pass—without making it our identity.
  • Change? Welcome it—without needing to control every outcome.
Yes, it seems so easy to read, yet completely another thing to actually do. But these were the shifts that freed me. The moment I stopped gripping and started trusting, life became lighter, easier, and way more expansive.

Finding Gratitude in Impermanence

When I truly embraced the temporary nature of everything, gratitude became second nature. I stopped taking beautiful moments for granted. I stopped fearing discomfort because I knew it wouldn’t last. I started living with more presence, more joy, more appreciation for what is—rather than what was or what might be.

How We Can Cultivate Gratitude for Every Moment

  • Practice mindfulness. Be fully present in every experience, whether joyful or challenging.
  • Keep a gratitude journal. Write down things we’re grateful for every day, even the small, fleeting moments.
  • Reframe challenges as growth opportunities. Instead of resisting hardships, ask, "What can this teach me?"
  • Celebrate the present. Let go both of nostalgia and future worries. Enjoy life as it unfolds.

Life Has No Rulebook

There's no promise that we get until 80 or 90. Heck, there's no promise we get tomorrow! No guarantee of how many mornings we’ll wake up to see the sunrise, how many times we’ll get to say “I love you,” how many more laughs we’ll share with the people who mean the most to us.
When I truly accepted that this moment is all that’s certain, that it's all that's real, I started focusing on what really matters. I stopped sweating the small stuff. I stopped waiting for the “perfect” conditions. I stopped putting off joy. 

I started to live.

And that is the greatest gift of all.

Trusting the Flow of Life

If we’ve been gripping too tightly—whether to the good or the bad—let’s take a breath. Let’s let it go. Let’s trust the flow. Because life is always moving, always changing, always unfolding exactly as it’s meant to.

And the more we trust that, the freer we become.

Final Thought: The Beauty of Impermanence

Everything is temporary. And that’s a beautiful thing. Because it means every hard season will pass. Every painful moment will soften. Every joyful experience is even more precious because it won’t last forever.

So I cherish it all—the laughter, the tears, the uncertainty, the love. I let go of what was. I stop fearing what’s next. I choose to be here. To be now. Because this moment? It’s the only one that actually exists.
Thank you for reading, and until next time, stay grateful and keep growing! 💚

Sara Mitich
Actor | Transformational Life Coach | Founder of Gratitude & Growth

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