“This Too Shall Pass” is an old adage of which many of you have surely heard before. But do you live by it? These four words put together in such an order can mean so much to us in our quest for peace and happiness. This saying doesn’t necessarily apply to all challenging situations that we may be experiencing, but more so to our thoughts and feelings associated with those situations. But remember, the good times pass as well.

This adage can be very comforting for us when we are going through a tough time. It reminds us that whatever it is that we are experiencing will pass, that we will not need to experience a particular feeling forever. The situation we experience may be permanent to this life, such as the death of a loved one or a permanent disability, but is it really a situation that is the cause of our pain or is it the feelings and thoughts that we bring to that situation? In this life, other than death, all things are impermanent. Life itself is impermanent. So, even if you have a thought or feeling that you seem to carry with you your entire life, that thought or feeling comes and goes, it arises and ceases, it’s not permanent. Understanding that I may only need to experience a bad feeling for a few days as opposed to a lifetime is relieving. Knowing that although some feelings may stick around but that their intensity should decrease is comforting.

Keep in mind that your good times and good feelings will also pass. I am not saying that you shouldn’t enjoy such times in your life but as with the bad times, why get attached to them? That’s the problem, isn’t it? We attach ourselves to what we desire, we try to possess that which we want and then when that person or thing is taken from us, we get upset. We know we will lose so much of what we have yet we still get attached. If we could only let go of what we think we possess, we would free ourselves from the fear we have of losing that which we covet and be able to fully appreciate those gifts that we have been given. This is not easy to do, especially with our loved ones. But we can keep trying. Remembering always that “this too shall pass” will help us to let go of whatever it is that we are experiencing and to which we are presently attached, whether painful or pleasurable and will help us to maintain emotional balance.

Tags: Impermanence, Stress