This too will pass

Heard from Podcast a story told by a religious teacher that goes like this:

A man left his 2 sons a box when he died. Inside the box were 2 rings, one made of diamonds and the other of base metal. The eldest claimed the diamond ring as he was the firstborn. As usual with such stories he squandered away his fortune over the years and was miserable whereupon he met his brother. The younger brother seemed to be living quite happily. When he asked his brother how he managed to fare so well, the younger brother replied that he lived by the inscription on the ring which he thought was what their father bequeathed him. The words were "This too shall pass". They had helped him ride many storms.

This story was told by a religious teacher to an audience in San Francisco. He then asked his audience to reflect on the words and share their thoughts. I shall mention 3 responses that stood out for me. One man amongst the audience told of his own personal experience. He was the beneficiary of a trust fund set up by his great grandfather. For 3 generations, his relatives lived on the income from the trust and there was immeasurable misery with persistent suspicion, dissatisfaction and repeated calls for investigations etc.

Another lady spoke of her own grandmother who suffered from depression. The old lady however lived by the meaning of those words "This too will pass" and advised her children and grandchildren to live by them. Yet another lady in the audience shared that she had been repeatedly fighting cancer after each relapse. She too put her life together based on those words.

If I were to offer my thoughts I will relate my experience which though mundane, are what those words seem to mean for me. I have just started to attend Chinese Calligraphy at a Community Centre. There is homework every week. One day I was feeling rather blue and decided to let my mind focus on calligraphy instead. At first I was rather listless and thought it not the appropriate time to do my homework. However as I concentrated on every stroke, observing the impact of each slight shift of the brush, noticing the outcome from differing weight placed on each pause of the brush and learning how the thickness of the ink and the sharpness of the pointed brush shape the characters, I started to feel very very engaged with .........( I dont know what to call it) and calm befell me. In just a split moment, I seemed to know what it was meant to be, our being here. After finishing my homework I went on my routine with a lighter heart. To those moody feelings, "This too will pass".