Imagine you are watching a matchstick being lit on fire. At first, you may see the matchstick as a solid and permanent object with a certain identity. However, if you observe closely, you would notice that the matchstick is undergoing a transformation as it burns. The matchstick is no longer static but is now in a state of constant change and decay.
As the matchstick burns, its color, size, shape, and density all change in real-time. There is no permanence or fixed-identity to the matchstick as it is destroyed and transformed into ashes. Moreover, the matchstick is not an independently existing object, it depends on the heat, oxygen, and other factors that allow it to burn.
This observation helps us to see the empty nature of existence. Everything in the universe is in a constant state of flux, and there is no permanent or independently existing object. Everything is dependent on other factors for its existence and will cease to exist as those factors change. Recognizing this emptiness can help to cultivate wisdom, reduce attachment and bring a sense of liberation from our own self-created suffering.