This Too Shall Pass

There is a Jewish folktale where the saying, “This Too Shall Pass” originated. In the story, King Solomon wanted to humble his servant, Benaiah Ben Yahoyada. He gave Benaiah a task to find a ring that, when worn, will make the happy man sad and the sad man happy. King Solomon asked him to be back within six months for the celebration of Sukkot. The King fully expected Benaiah to be unsuccessful because you see, no such ring existed.

Benaiah searched for the ring but could not find it anywhere. On the night before Sukkot, Benaiah stopped and asked a merchant if he knew of a ring that would make a happy man sad and a sad man happy. The merchant went into his shop, inscribed a gold ring, and gave it to Benaiah. To King Solomon’s great surprise and dismay, he was presented with the ring, with which there were three Hebrew letters inscribed: a gimel, zayin, and yud, abbreviations for “Gam Zeh Ya’avor.” In English, this means, “This Too Shall Pass.” The King became incredibly sad to realize that all his wealth, wisdom and power was only temporary.

So, the quote reminds us that it does not matter how dreadful things are, it is only temporary. It also serves as a reminder to appreciate every moment of your life and stay humble. Mainly though, it is a reminder that even through the challenging times, all will be well again. This too shall pass.

A friend who recently lost her husband told me that joy and sadness are only different sides of the same coin. It is through the depths of sorrow that we are able to truly recognize and appreciate the boundlessness of being at peace of heart and mind. We are presented with the best of times and the worst of times while here on this earth. Perhaps this human journey is about being broken open by the challenging and painful times so that we find God, the core of our being and in that space, to find our true sanctuary.

In his book, “How Then Shall We Live?” Wayne Muller poses the question, how will we then live, knowing that we will one day die? How will we live knowing that all things shall pass? I intend to make every day my best day yet.