Day 52 of 365: Emergence and Decay

As the black-eyed susans in my front yard begin to wither, it seems fully appropriate to contemplate emergence and decay.  We have clear ideas in our mind of when something is coming to be and when it is dying or disappearing.  These teachings are nudging us to take another, closer look.  Are emergence and decay the same or different?  Clearly, they are not the same, just by virtue of what they mean.  Are they different?  Different, to the Middle Way aspirant, means that they are not connected and that there is no dependency.  (Recall that the way we take things as real is as singular, lasting, and independent.)  Clearly, emergence and decay cannot be different because they are opposites and depend upon one another.  In this way, we walk out on the diving board of concept, only to discover that in fact there is no diving board.  Perhaps, with this larger view, the wistfulness of fall and the joy of spring could be inseparably experienced as our flowers wither.