As the sunrise is followed by the sunset and vice versa, so does the pendulum of joy and sorrow swings alternatively throughout our lifespan. When you meet sorrow, rest assured and repeat to yourself: “This too shall pass”, as it is also evanescent like all other things and phases of life.”
When a child falls while playing in the garden, the mother tries to divert his attention by exclaiming to him: “Oh! See the beautiful sparrow on the tree.” Or, “Oh! That’s a colorful butterfly on the flower!” Thus, the child’s attention is diverted and he gets engrossed in admiring the sparrow or the butterfly and forgets his trouble. Similarly, do not take your moments of adversity too seriously and instead try to divert your attention away from it towards more positive spheres, with a positive philosophy of life.
When change in life hits you, it can often be a very sad, disappointing and even terrifying experience. The end of a relationship, losing your job, the death of a loved one. It can strike unexpectedly and out of the blue, fearing that you will never be able to get “back on track”. We strive to meet our journey in life wisely – only when we keep in mind life’s ebbs and flows. Whether it is disappointing, frustrating or a pleasant experience it will soon come and pass away.
The truth of the transientness of all earthly things – should temper our human joys, and save us from being too deeply absorbed in them. This is true of pure human affections. God wants us to cherish them. But we are never to forget that there is a sense in which these, too, shall pass away. We cannot keep our loved ones ever by our side. There is a way, however, in which we may lift these human relations out of the transient, the evanescent, so that they shall be resumed in that world where there is no change, where no flowers fade, where nothing beautiful and good ever shall pass away. But in a human and earthly sense we should remember, even of the tenderest affection and sweetest joy, “this, too, shall pass away.”
God is all merciful and benevolent and gives you pain only as a learning experience for your soul to illuminate. Your suffering is nothing but a stepping stone for your soul’s spiritual evolution. Just as gold attains its glow and glitter after being heated in the fire, so also the human being attains purification and spiritual maturity.
after paying for your debts.
Contemplation of God with undaunted faith and reverence, and accepting pain and sorrow as well as joy and happiness with equanimity and regarding them as His precious gifts is the right approach to treat the events of your life. As nothing happens without His will, accept even your pain and sorrow as His will and have faith in Him. The million-dollar mantra, ‘this, too, shall pass’ shall impart its powerful healing powers to you and to all your pains. President Abraham Lincoln used the expression as a mantra to help him through the stress of troubled times with his family and during his administration.
