Everything passes (wisdom stories)
It will pass
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, “My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I’m constantly falling asleep. It’s just horrible!”
“It will pass,” the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. “My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It’s just wonderful!’
“It will pass,” the teacher replied matter-of-factly.
The ring
Once upon a time there was Freddie, a wise leader who in spite of his great wisdom often struggled with emotional highs and lows. Freddie was prone to periods of great elation where he would make very poor decisions, and periods of great despair where he would get extremely upset.
One of his associates, Mara was her name, designed and forged a simple ring for Freddie to wear at all times. In her mind this was an ingenious device that would help stop him from getting lost in his high and low moments.
Freddie asked, “How does it work?”
“Wear the ring with you always. In times when you need it most, it will show you the answer and you will know what to do,” replied the Mari.
Almost immediately, another associate showed up saying that the company they both worked for had just lost a lot of money. Everything seemed dark and hopeless, just when at the end of the day, after many phone calls, the tired Freddie looked at his new gift, the ring. Engraved on the ring was an illuminated message – four simple words which he had not seen before: “This too shall pass.”
All of the sudden, Freddie found new hope, courage and a burst of renewed energy. He went home and surrendered to a good night sleep.
The day after, an unexpected phone call led to a couple of meetings and the eventual signing of a new contract that not only brought back the money lost but much more. Elated, Freddie called all his partners and associates, employees and clients and threw a massive celebration for many days. Just when he was losing himself in the midst of the great celebration, Freddie touched the ring and felt the engraving – the four simple words which he had noticed just a few days earlier: “This too shall pass.”
He decided from then on to engage in a daily ritual of intentionally touching gently the ring, feeling the inscription, early in the morning, upon awakening, and at the end of each just before going to sleep. He carried the four words “this too shall pass” like a mantra, repeating them under his breath, in good times and in bad times, in sickness and in health, in winning and in losing, in light and in darkness: “this too shall pass.”
The ring (an alternate version)
There’s a famous fable of an ancient powerful king. As powerful as he was, he often struggled with emotional highs and lows, and that had caused him heavily during critical moments in battles.
The King was prone to periods of great elation where he would make very poor decisions, and periods of great despair where he would get extremely upset.
One of the kingdom’s wise men created a ring for the King, a device that would help stop him from getting lost in his high and low moments.
The King asked, “How does it work?”
“Wear the ring with you always. In times when you need it most, it will show you the answer and you will know what to do.” replied the wise man.
Almost immediately, a horseman rode in and demanded to speak to the King.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The kingdom is surrounded. We’re under attacked!”
The King and all his best men rode out to meet their enemies in the battlefield. They fought for a long time and it appeared that they would be defeated.
Everything seemed dark and hopeless, just when the tired King was about to surrender the ring suddenly shined and caught his attention.
Engraved on the ring was an illuminated message – four words which he did not see before: “This too shall pass.”
All of the sudden, the King found new hope, courage and a burst of energy out of nowhere and fought back with everything he had. His new strength inspired his men to fight like never before, like men possessed. Soon, the tide of the battle turned and they won.
The King returned to his city and threw a massive celebration for many days. Just when he was losing himself in the midst of a great feast, the ring shined and there was an illuminated message which drew his attention.
This time it said, “This too shall pass.”
Those four words woke the King up and returned him to his centered self. He came back to his senses, he returned to clarity, which had always been there inside of him.