We may have had an experience of building sandcastles while on vacation at some beach. Sandcastles are not very long lasting, usually until the next tide cycle, and then they are gone.

Sandcastles are a fun way to spend some relaxing time. Yet how much of our lives do we spend constructing sandcastles in our everyday lives? We make castles of stuff, basking in our accomplishments. We build mighty fortresses out of our sense of self and rightness. We build walls of superiority and arrogance to ward off the connections of life and the world around us. We go to great lengths doing what seems worthwhile and important, yet in the end it is worthless. And can easily be destroyed by the changes in life, be it job, relationships, income, health, even aging.

The reality of impermanence and the truth of change is relentless at tearing down our sandcastle walls. Only when we awaken to the true nature of reality – the Buddhahood that perfectly exists already in our life – can we experience a life of indestructible happiness.