“This too shall pass” is a Persian adage??? translated and used in multiple languages. It reflects on the temporary nature, or ephemerality, of the human condition. Nothing, good or bad, lasts forever. A current situation or event, no matter how wonderful or horrible it is, will not last forever.
It reflects on the temporary nature, or ephemerality, of the human condition — that neither the bad, nor good, moments in life ever indefinitely last. The general sentiment is often expressed in wisdom literature throughout history and across cultures, but the specific phrase seems to have originated in the writings of the medieval Persian Sufi poets
Story: All Things Pass
“The wise remind themselves that ‘This too shall pass’ even when things are good; the foolish, only when things are bad.”
There are many "stories" or folkloric tales about where this saying has originated. It's best known as coming from King Solomon, who reigned in Israel from 970 to 931 BCE. He was a wise man, and was seeking knowledge on how to make a sad man happy and a happy man sad.
He requested from his minister, Benaiah, to bring him a ring with these magical powers. Well, Benaiah searched and searched all over for this ring. Most likely the King knew he would never find it, but Benaiah didn't give up.
He finally went into the slums of Jerusalem and found a craftsman who worked in metal. The craftsman turned to his grandfather with this odd request, who in turn went into his workshop and appeared with a ring.
This gold ring he brought out to the minister to present to the king had this phrase engraved on the inside of the ring, "This Too Shall Pass."
When presented to the King, he was dumbfounded. No one thought there could be such a thing that makes you stop in your path-- reflect on the past, the present and the future and remind you that the state you are in is not going to last forever.
“It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.”
“Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.”
A very similar tale is told by Persian Sufi poets Rumi and Fariddudun Attar. It also ends with a ring cast in gold (and rubies) with an inscription on the ring that says, 'This too shall pass.'
The fable reads like this-- a young, poor scholar is wandering the Maranjab desert and has no place to sleep and eat. A well-off farmer offers this young man shelter and food, but on the day of his departure when the young man asks about the farmer's kindness and hospitality his response is, "This too shall pass."
Years pass and the scholar visits the farmer, only to find him poor and disheveled, working as a low-grade servant. Floods had come and destroyed his prosperous lands, but not to fret, he tells the scholar for "this too shall pass."
The scholar ages and becomes famous and well-renowned in the area and moves back to the Maranjab desert. The king of the time had recently lost his wife and son during childbirth and was thoroughly depressed, crying himself to sleep every night. He sought out a ring that would cheer his spirits, appease his suffering.
People from all over tried to help, but nothing of importance resonated with with king. Then, the scholar, now not so young, was sought out to advise the king and perhaps suggest a phrase. Shortly thereafter, a ring appeared from the scholar with a phrase inscribed inside of the gold and ruby ring:
There once was a Zen student, studying under a great Zen master. The student had trouble learning, and especially meditation came really hard to him. He went to his teacher and said:
“My meditation practice sucks. I am always distracted. Can’t concentrate. My legs hurt. I keep thinking of all kinds of things, or just fall asleep. I just can’t do it! It sucks!”
The master looked at him and said:
“It will pass.”
The student went back to his room, and kept on trying to meditate. A week later, the student burst into his teacher’s room. He screamed:
“Wow! My meditation is so good now. I feel so in touch with myself. So peaceful! It’s great!”
The master just sat there and replied:
“It will pass.”
Sacred Text
2 Corinthians 4: 17-18
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
When we surrender to affliction, why does it never seem “light” or for the moment? Because by surrendering to it and allowing ourselves to consider it negatively, we lose the power to develop self-dominion, which would show us the temporal nature of affliction.
How does affliction work for us “more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory”? By training us to look beyond the apparent to the real, beyond the external to the reality of the inner life, and also by teaching us to recognize cause in effects.
How can we look at “the things which are not seen”? We can look at them with the eye of the mind, seeing them in our thoughts.
What is the “glory of man?” His mental endowment or his capacity to develop powers of perception and reflection, to correlate ideas, and to enter into the universal Mind or Spirit.
“‘All conditioned things are impermanent’ — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.” The Buddha
This is a genuine Buddha quote. It’s from the Dhammapada, verse 277.
Accepting Impermanence Helps Cultivate Positive Wellbeing
Research in the field of positive psychology suggests that external factors don’t determine one’s happiness. Certainly, positive external factors compound and complement one’s overall contentment, but internal factors are required to achieve an authentically joyous life.
Genuine happiness comes from within, and it can be cultivated through mindfulness meditation and other activities, including gratitude journaling, awe journaling, and focusing on the good.
Impermanence allows people to cope more easily with trying times. If someone comes to the conclusion that life is not permanent, and neither is anything in it (like one’s partner, children, job, physical capabilities, financial and social status), then one is more likely to react gracefully when something perceived as valuable is taken away (LaBier, 2012).
Poem: This, Too, Shall Pass Away by Santa Wilson Smith
WHEN SOME GREAT SORROW , like a mighty river,
Flows through your life with peace-destroying power,
And dearest things are swept from sight forever,
Say to your heart each trying hour:
"This, too, shall pass away."
Science of Mind Reading
When ceaseless toil has hushed your song of gladness,
And you have grown almost too tired to pray,
Let this truth banish from your heart its sadness,
And ease the burdens of each trying day:
"This, too, shall pass away."
When fortune smiles, and, full of mirth and pleasure,
The days are flitting by without a care,
Lest you should rest with only earthly treasure,
Let these few words their fullest import bear:
"This, too, shall pass away."
When earnest labor brings you fame and glory,
And all earth's noblest ones upon you smile,
Remember that life's longest, grandest story
Fills but a moment in earth's little while:
"This, too, shall pass away."
Rumination
The rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorns.
Rumi
Benediction
May you Go into your week with your ears pitched to the sound of God’s voice calling your name.
May you Go into your week with your eyes peeled for the face of Christ in unexpected places.
May you Go into your week with your soul poised to acknowledge the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Peace.
May you go into your week embracing the good and the bad, the highs and the lows with the awareness that this too shall pass.
Song: Switch BY Symphony