Joy, pain, sorrow, guilt, resentment, ecstasy, love, fear, fatigue, an event, a condition, a loss, a relationship—no matter what the emotion, state, or situation, be it positive or negative—these all are fleeting. Everything is in flux. Everything changes. This, too, shall pass. Watch the parable about this wise phrase here.
Because of the transient nature of everything, we must learn to let go, not own anything, and realize that feelings, people, situations, and even abundance, are on loan to us for a limited time. They circulate and flow to and from us. In any given moment, I am merely the keeper or custodian of what I feel, experience, or have. Even my perceptions about them are fleeting!
Everything is impermanent and passes. I am impermanent and do pass—in my exchanges with people, places, and things, in their thoughts, perceptions, and ideas about me (!), in our relationships, and lives with each other. Ultimately, I will pass from my current state of being in this world because I will physically die (I’d like to think that my soul is permanent, but perhaps that’s my ego showing up here).
So, if everything is fleeting, I must seize each precious moment and appreciate its abundance and beauty, or at the very least, the opportunity for growth that it presents. Mainly, I must acknowledge and cherish my own abundance and beauty.
How do you show up in your life with the knowledge that “This, too, shall pass.”?
Beach image courtesy of bluemoonjools on Pixabay. Sound editing courtesy of Andrew Howarth