impermanences
Things that fade
Impermanences is the plural of impermanence—instances or examples of things that don't last.
The word appears most often in Buddhist contexts, where impermanence is a core teaching about the transient nature of all phenomena: meditation on the impermanences of life.
Outside religious discourse, it describes multiple fleeting or temporary conditions: the small impermanences of daily existence.
Condition of being brief
- fluxContinuous change or flow
- mutabilityCapacity for alteration
- temporalityState of existing briefly
- mortalityState of eventual death
finitude · groundlessness · emptiness · becoming · dissolution · interdependence · non-attachment · letting go
Gradual organic breakdown
- erosionGradual wearing away
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- deteriorationProcess of declining quality
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
rust · fading · crumbling · disintegration · biodegradation · entropy · wear · corrosion
Year's four divisions
- tidesPeriodic sea-level changes
- bloomingProducing flowers now
- wiltingLosing turgor and drooping
- migrationMovement to new territory
metamorphosis · cycles · molting · eclipses · phases · snowmelt · falling leaves · cherry blossoms
Temporary emotional states
- feelingsEmotional responses experienced internally
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
- joyIntense positive emotion
- attachmentConnection or fondness
loss · nostalgia · melancholy · longing · heartbreak · healing · memories · relationships
Sacred impermanent powder artwork
- ice sculpturesArt carved from frozen water
- performance artEmbodied creative expression
- installationsPlaced and secured equipment
- flower arrangementsDecorative groupings of blossoms
ikebana · land art · body art · street art · snow sculptures · butter sculptures · fireworks · lanterns
ephemerality
Condition of being brief
- fluxContinuous change or flow
- mutabilityCapacity for alteration
- temporalityState of existing briefly
mortality · finitude · groundlessness · emptiness · becoming · dissolution · interdependence · non-attachment · letting go · flow
decay
Gradual organic breakdown
- erosionGradual wearing away
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- deteriorationProcess of declining quality
decomposition · rust · fading · crumbling · disintegration · biodegradation · entropy · wear · corrosion · tarnishing
seasons
Year's four divisions
migration · metamorphosis · cycles · molting · eclipses · phases · snowmelt · falling leaves · cherry blossoms · mayflies
moods
Temporary emotional states
- feelingsEmotional responses experienced internally
- griefIntense sorrow from loss
- joyIntense positive emotion
attachment · loss · nostalgia · melancholy · longing · heartbreak · healing · memories · relationships · goodbyes
sand mandalas
Sacred impermanent powder artwork
- ice sculpturesArt carved from frozen water
- performance artEmbodied creative expression
- installationsPlaced and secured equipment
flower arrangements · ikebana · land art · body art · street art · snow sculptures · butter sculptures · fireworks · lanterns · altars
impermanenceseternities
Boundless time periods
permanences · perpetuities · everlastingness · timelessness · endlessness
impermanencespermanences
Enduring, unchanging conditions
constancies · stabilities · unchangingness · fixities · changelessness