This too shall pass

You may be familiar with this particular Sufi story, which is neither intended to comfort nor imply fear. Moreso it gives an alternate perspective to the fragility of each moment.

In this story there was a king who was either completely overwhelmed by happiness, or incredibly depressed with sadness at the events he experienced.

The king was at his wits’ end. He couldn’t live with his emotions swinging from one to the next. Nothing could bring him the peace which he desperately sought. He asked to speak to a local wiseman, who was poor in materials, but said to be enlightened.

The king relayed his story and the wiseman offered a solution. He told the king that he could help, but the value is worth more than his entire kingdom, so the king must promise to honour the gift. The king gladly agreed.

The wiseman, accepting nothing in return, handed the king his gift. It was a modest sized wooden box which fit comfortably in the kings hand. The king opened the box and within it was a plain looking gold ring, but inscribed on it were the words “this too shall pass”.

The wiseman told the king that before labelling anything good or bad, he must touch the ring and read the inscription, that way he will be at peace.

Looking at this story literally it would seem these words are provided to give comfort in a bad situation, but they may also diminish the enjoyment of the good things in life. But the deeper meaning goes beyond that interpretation.

The inscribed words are making us aware of the fleetingness of every situation, because each moment is transient by definition. When we chose to invite those words into our life, we have acceptance, and are at peace with, inevitable change.