This Too Will Pass

Many of us would have heard people making this statement as they go through their worldly trials or witness another person enduring theirs. There is a tendency to give this kind of advice on a superficial level. That is, people say it and do not themselves grasp the power behind the words – the full impact.

One of the paradoxes of our success is that it (they all) shall pass. It is one of the reasons success may seem empty because we cannot get permanent feeling of ete
al peace from temporary achievements. Thus we have to balance the superficial need for satisfaction from our daily experiences and triumphs. And, while we tend to remind ourselves that ‘this too shall pass”, we must recognize that it is not only the “bad” but the “good” also.

Life is a cycle of good and bad. The tendency is to strive hard to prevent the bad but we all get to experience that the good is replaced by the bad and vice versa, even though some lives seem to be about an overwhelming set of “bads”. Thus in accepting that in the cycle, everything shall pass, we will avoid blaming and attaching too much emotions and significance to the transient world.

Of course, the nature of our experiences will determine the how easily we make the things pass, without suffering. The loss of high value material stuff poses a challenge, not to mention the loss of friends and loved ones. It seems that for the enjoyment of life we have to make some level of attachments. One wonders if having a wife without attachments to her would make for a satisfying relationship. Yet whenever the relationship ends, for whatever reason, if we do not accept that is was, invariably, one of those things that would pass, then it would keep us in suffering.

Recognizing that worldly success eventually will feel empty helps us move to a more satisfying state. It is a state of increased consciousness.