"Castles in the Hourglass Sand": What Wolf Alice Taught Me About Impermanence

There is a magic to a morning walk through the woods. The cool air and quiet stillness have a way of bringing hidden thoughts to the surface. During my walk this morning, a lyric from the Wolf Alice song Play It Out "watch me build castles in the hourglass sand" played on a loop in my mind. It is a beautiful, deeply poetic line, but its meaning to me has changed completely over time.

I used to think that the line was about noticing where in my life I was holding on to thoughts, opinions, wishes that were not built on a solid foundation. Perhaps at that point in my journey that was exactly what I needed it to mean. So I focused on providing a solid grounding base for myself.

Then, life did what it does best, it kicked my ass and reminded me that nothing is permanent.

Because of those challenges, I sought to find a new meaning in the music. I now realise that nothing in life is solid enough to last forever exactly as it is. Today, the line means recognising the sheer vulnerability of building a castle on something as unstable as hourglass sand, but choosing to build it anyway.

Instead of letting the fear of collapse hold you back, let the absolute certainty of impermanence empower you. Jump right into the experience. Embrace the good and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, the success and the failure. When you look at life through this lens, a word like "failure" actually loses all its meaning. It is all just part of the experience.

Thank you Wolf Alice. Keep it up, you Rock!!