35. |
Remember That This Too Shall Pass |
Mike was known as “Iron Mike” to his friends, not so much because he was a tough guy but because he had been an iron worker and was old-school, blue-collar, working-class Staten Island Irish, much like the members of my own family. Mike had been a serious drinker for many years. Oh, yeah, and he was tough too.
What I remember most about him, aside from his always outstretched hand and his readiness to welcome any newcomer to the fellowship we were both members of, was his response whenever someone said, “This too shall pass.” “Yeah,” Mike would bellow, “The good passes, the bad passes, and then you pass.”
Whatever is happening in your life — the good and the not-so-good — will pass as surely as day passes into night. If you’re going through a difficult period right now, hang tight; it will pass. Similarly, that fantastic feeling you’re having right now will also pass. It’s the natural ebb and flow of life.
You remember life. It’s that thing that John Lennon said happens while we’re busy making other plans.
My favorite lesson for getting through challenges comes from nature. Everything in nature survives by being in the flow of life, not by trying to resist it. Everything — from the trees growing along the California coast, which withstand the high winds and rough seas of the Pacific Ocean, to the coral in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia — thrives by living in harmony with the world around it.
Whatever is going on in your life right now, especially if it’s challenging, go with the flow. Ride the waves of the changes that are taking place the way a surfer rides ocean waves. Just go with the ebb and flow of your life. And remember, this too shall pass.