This too shall pass, was advice giving to me while I was going through a particularly painful break up with a boyfriend. At the time I was so distraught, I did not know how I was going to pull myself together. But as time moved on, so did I. Since then I have used that mantra numerous times through out my life, during long arduous bike rides, fights with my husband, even long tiring births. The end result is always the same, no matter what the situation is, yes this too shall pass!
The concept of impermanence is strongly woven into the teaching of yoga. We can practice on the mat that even the hardest pose will end just as the most delicious sensations will eventually fade. By embracing the constant fluctuation in our lives, we can use it to our advantage to help us move through the difficult moments as well as savor the splendid ones.
Just this past week 3 students had contacted me and told me of their births. They all were dramatically different, but all had the same thread sewn through. They reminded themselves that the pain was temporary and it will eventually lead to the joyous moment of their baby’s birth. This philosophy carried each woman through turbulent ups and downs of labor and helped deliver them (no pun intended) to the other side of a challenging experience.
I guess ultimately we can learn that moments are fleeting and the ones we like we should try to embrace and the ones we don’t, will eventually end. To quote one of my favorite composers, Stephen Sondheim, (yes, it always comes back to musical theater in my life!)
Days are made of moments
All are worth exploring.
Many kinds of moments:
None is worth ignoring.
All we have are moments
memories for storing
One would be so boring!
