Be Brave, Be Grateful - This Too Shall Pass

The expression "This too shall pass" helps us manage the ups and downs of life. In the good times, it holds us steady and keeps us grateful. When the going gets tough it reminds us to hang on in there in hope because everything changes. This meditation provides an opportunity for reflection on this life-enhancing idea. Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash. Background music: Above the Clouds by Narek Mirzaei

Transcript

Dear friends,

Thank you for joining me for this period of reflection.

Let's begin by coming into this present moment,

Finding a place of rest in the here and now.

It might help if you close your eyes,

But that's not essential.

Whatever suits.

You might like to take a deep breath in,

Hold for a second or two,

And then relax as you breathe out.

See if you can notice any tension in your body.

An example would be the tightness we sometimes feel in our shoulders.

If there is a tightness in your shoulders,

See if you can deliberately crunch them up and then allow yourself to relax by letting your shoulders drop.

Notice a feeling of relaxation.

And for the next 60 seconds,

Just pay attention to your breathing.

You're breathing in and you're breathing out.

You wouldn't even call this concentration.

It's just a case of you enjoying the simple state of being aware of your own breath.

And what if your mind wanders?

No worries at all.

But if you happen to notice your mind wandering,

Just gently bring yourself back,

Back to an awareness of the wonderful gift of your breath.

So now our one minute pause for relaxation.

Welcome back.

I have a little notice stuck to the dashboard of my car.

The heading,

This too shall pass.

The notice reads,

When things are bad,

Remember,

It won't always be this way.

Take one day at a time.

And the message goes on,

When things are good,

Remember,

It won't always be this way.

Enjoy every great moment.

The notice reminds me,

And anyone who happens to see it,

That we should be really grateful for what we have today.

For the fact of our existence in this wonderful world.

For existence itself.

And for the extraordinary sequence of events stretching back from time immemorial,

Right up to the day of our birth.

This extraordinary,

Impossible to comprehend,

Sequence,

Which gave rise to the existence of each one of us.

This life of hers is really a gift beyond measure.

It must give rise to endless reasons for reflecting with gratitude.

And this is even before we go on to consider just some of the benefits of our lives.

The air we breathe,

The food we eat,

Our senses enabling us to interpret and navigate the world around us.

And then of course we have the people in our lives.

Not only those near and dear to us,

Family and friends who love us and who stand by us day after day,

But also the countless other individuals,

People we don't know at all.

All those who have worked and still work tirelessly to keep the wheels of industry and business and society turning.

Thanks to them we enjoy benefits which are beyond even the wildest dreams of the generations of people who've gone before us.

Our gratitude for these gifts is made even more intense due to the fact that each of our lives here is limited in duration.

If our lives were to go on forever,

I suspect we'd soon lose all sense of gratitude.

Why?

Because we would be living in an endless series of todays.

There'd be no urgency in expressing appreciation,

In giving thanks.

And we know what can happen when we're faced with a task that is not pushed forward by some element of urgency.

So as the notice on my dashboard reminds me,

It won't always be this way.

Enjoy every great moment.

I think you might agree with me that the last line could have been better phrased.

Maybe better to say enjoy every moment,

The great and the small.

Let's pause now for another minute of reflection,

Again just 60 seconds.

This time to give thanks for our existence and for everyone and everything that supports the life we have here.

Welcome back.

And of course there are the not so perfect times,

The less than good days.

Have you noticed how sometimes you might wake up with a pain or a problem of some sort?

Isn't the problem made worse by the feeling that you're going to have to endure this indefinitely?

But as you know,

We live in a world of constant change.

A world in which change itself is the only constant.

We all know from experience how our previous pains and worries have come to an end.

The pain may have passed naturally or it may have been eased or ended by means of some medicine or some remedy.

And as for worries,

I'm sure we can all recall so many situations where we worried about something which never came to pass.

Which brings us to the wisdom and the heart of that little notice.

When things are bad,

Remember,

It won't always be this way.

Take one day at a time.

And there is wisdom in this.

Over the years we will have come across a sick or an injured animal.

Now,

None of us can tell what goes on in the brain or,

If you like to call it that,

The mind of an animal.

But I think we can be fairly certain that an animal suffering pain today will not be having that sensation of pain increased by the thought that the discomfort will go on forever.

Unlike us human beings,

I think we can safely believe that animals live their lives in the present moment.

On the other hand,

And because of our ability to look back and to project forward,

We find it difficult to live in the here and now.

This is not to say that our ability to reflect is a bad thing.

The opposite is the case.

We have this unique gift of reflection and rumination.

This facility of our minds is a wonderful benefit,

But it has a downside.

The drawback is that we can let our imaginations run wild.

In moments of distress,

We tend to imagine the worst of outcomes.

We forget to look to our own past experiences.

If we could only pause,

If we could stop to reflect,

We would see that everything changes,

Including circumstances that we consider at the time to be as bad as it gets.

When situations appear to us to be worrying,

Painful or even hopeless,

We must try to remember to take one day at a time.

Let's not fall into the unhelpful habit of anticipating the worst.

Let's approach things with a little more confidence.

We'll have another one-minute pause now,

This time to encourage ourselves in the practice of compartmentalisation,

The value of leaving our regrets of yesterday in a box marked yesterday,

And leaving our fears of tomorrow in a box labelled for attention tomorrow.

A one-minute pause.

Welcome back.

In support of the idea this too shall pass,

I'd like to leave you with some quotes from three religious traditions.

These will encourage us to live in the present moment in the knowledge that this too shall pass.

From the Buddha,

We have these words.

Do not dwell in the past.

Do not dream of the future.

Concentrate the mind on the present moment.

In the Christian tradition,

We have Jesus advising us,

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,

For tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And you may have come across these words from the Psalms in the Jewish tradition.

This is the day the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

So,

An idea for you to take away from this reflection.

You might consider preparing a little note,

Something you can put up in a place where you'll see it regularly.

What to put in the note?

These are only suggested words.

You might like to use encouraging words of your own.

For a heading,

The words this too shall pass.

And in the body,

When things are bad,

Remember it won't always be this way.

Take one day at a time.

And don't forget to add something like this.

When things are good,

Remember it won't always be this way.

Enjoy every great moment.

And maybe for that last line,

You would substitute the words,

Enjoy every moment.

To end,

I would like to wish you and those you care for,

Peace,

Happiness and contentment,

Today and every day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for this reflection, Tony. I needed these reminders today. 🙏💝🌅

Always lovely to sit with you! As the great Warren Zevon once said when asked how he dealt with his terminal illness, he answered "Enjoy every sandwich. " Namaste

Thank you, this is exactly what I needed to hear..a gentle reminder that this too shall pass.

Tony, your words and voice never fail to touch me. In these days of uncertainty and turmoil, it is important to remember that this to shall pass. Peace and love to you and to all gathered here. I feel that I can consider all of you to be my friends.

Thank you. This is a wonderful reminder of the impermanence of this moment.

Love the gentle encouraging wisdom delivered in such a beautiful soothing voice. Feeling more confident in the outcome of a worrying situation. Thank you 🙏

Thanks again, Tony! I know what it’s like to live one day at a time. It’s always a nice reminder. I think you and I might have something in common :-)

Great words of wisdom to remember

So glad I found this one. The timing was perfect and just listening to your words brought me peace. Your meditations always have such wonderful words of wisdom. Thank you. 🙏🙏❣️❣️❣️

A wonderful reminder. This too shall pass. Loved this talk

This was so lovely. Thank you. 🙏 I really need to listen to this a lot. ❤️

Many Thanks Tony for these wise words that I needed to hear. Very helpful during a time of illness, this too shall pass, let me appreciate this day despite the discomfort and frustrations. Blessings to you. 🙏

I always feel so much better after listening to one of Tony’s meditations. Thank you!

A lovely and encouraging talk. The one minute silent reflections enhance the experience.

Tony, I had not heard this one before! Simple and insightful, and beautifully explained. I wish everybody could listen to this. Recognizing the fleeting wonder of every moment makes it easy to be happy.
Thanks, Tony! Have a great week!
Donna

Beautiful, thank you Tony. Reminds me of
One day at a time.......Lena Martell! Going to listen to it now!
🙏🕊🎶

He is the best, just hearing his gentle, wise voice , I start to feel better

Namaste 🙏 I thank you for your kind words and support for reminding me that the past is history. The future is mystery. But the present is a gift that we give to ourselves and is meant to be enjoyed right here and now.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts

Beautiful reminder that we need to enjoy every moment. Thank you Tony!

Tony always shares such kind and comforting words to remember, during both hard times and good times. 🙏🏽