Dying Little Deaths

I have heard it said that every day we die little deaths. At the time I first heard that, I did not truly "get" it. I thought that it maybe meant the endings of certain things in my life . . . maybe the ending of a friendship or a project or a worn out coat . . . but, nevertheless, it had a sad ring to it. It meant the end of something, symbolic or otherwise, that I would probably miss. And though I knew that these little deaths must give me opportunities for little births - new beginnings - I did not know what those new beginnings would look like . . . a new friend in my life to balance out the one who left? A new coat hanging in my closet where the old one hung?
Then, I finally "got" it. I came to understand that death is not an end of anything at all . . . it is merely the transition into a new phase, a new time. Within each day, every little death is actually the "end" of each moment precisely as the very next moment is born into existence. Like a wheel turning on the pavement, leaving on spot behind as it comes into contact with the next spot: there are no beginnings and there are no endings to the wheel itself or its movement. I also came to realize that with the end of each moment I was given the opportunity to leave an old thought or belief behind with its passing (a little death). I was given yet another opportunity to gain a new perspective as the new moment arrived. In other words, I am constantly creating myself in every second . . . I am dying and I am being born . . . I am creating my perspective - the choices are all mine for the making.