... Ahh, impermanence. Do things really matter once you realize that nothing ever remains?

Well then if that's the case, then you won't be able to shine. See, what makes you shine is the time that you live. The fleeting glimpses of happiness that stick their little heads out of the window and say "see? look at me, this is what you live for" as they lock their uncheating gaze with yours.

So, Buddha was wrong after all. There's no point in eliminating desire when all you're left with are passing leaves under a pretty tree. Calmness, contemplation, internalization, these are all well and good while you're tasting the fruit. After swallowing, well, it's just longing.

Detachment is for fools, for old people, or for monks. When you long for something, well, it means it's usually not there. It might be for the taking, lingering in that pedestal you've built for feeling.. It might speak to you in tongues, it might come to you with the wind, or in a tornado of rhythm and blues that invade your closing eyes.... But it'll never be right there, holding your hand, feeding you with the golden mean of immediacy and love.

So, patience will cradle you, and the years will go by, and the monastery of the elderly will welcome you with a calm chant and a sly smile. Because nothing really matters, now does it? Well, only if you don't want to shine.