The real art of living This Too Shall Pass
Everything
– the good and bad, pleasure and pain, approval and disapproval,
achievements and mistakes, fame and shame – all come and go. Everything
has a beginning and an ending and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Every
experience you have ever had is over. Every thought you’ve ever had,
started and finished. Every emotion and mood you’ve experienced has
been replaced by another. You’ve been happy, sad, jealous, depressed,
angry, in love, shamed, proud, and every other conceivable human
feeling. Where did they all go? The answer is, no one really knows, all
we know is that, eventually, everything comes and goes.
Our
disappointment comes about in essentially two ways. When we’re
experiencing pleasure we want it to last forever. It never does. Or,
when we’re experiencing pain, we want it to go away – now. It usually
doesn’t.
When
something is happening that we enjoy, know that while it’s wonderful to
experience the happiness it brings, it will eventually pass. And if
you’re experiencing some type of pain or displeasure, know that this
too shall pass. Keeping this awareness close to your heart is a
wonderful way to maintain your perspective, even in the face of
adversity.
Lord Krishna instructs in the Bhagavad-gita 2.14
"O son of Kunti,
the non-permanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their
disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance
of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion
of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being
disturbed. "
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