Guiding Light: This Too Shall Pass

Life has a way of keeping us on our toes. Just when you think that you’re approaching a quiet period, an interesting twist may follow, and you’re back to thinking on your feet ! And sometimes it all gets a bit much, at which point you think to yourself, this too shall pass. Of course, our primary responsibility to ourselves is to preserve our mental and physical well being, but sometimes this sense of resignation can breed stagnation, which could perhaps prolong the discomfort, rather than prompt us into action and find a way to alleviate the situation.

The art of living is a careful balance between not giving up and letting go, for if you do too much of either, then that may cause the pendulum to swing wildly in one direction, making it really difficult to recover. We are more fragile than what some of us think, but far tougher than what some others might. The truth is that we’re all built differently, with varying thresholds for uncertainty and stress and the wisdom lies in realising what our true limits are, and how much we can stretch.

Real transformation lies at the margins, when situations can stretch us just enough to help us grow, but not so much that they bend us out of shape. And success comes from knowing our thresholds and being mentally and physically prepared for the temporary discomfort that results during the process of growth. Ambition is a good thing, but not at the expense of the impairing our lives or those of our near and dear ones. Afterall, everything that we largely do is in the pursuit of happiness.

It would seem such an obvious thing to know ourselves well enough, but we live in an era of information and sensory overload, which has warped our sense of self. We have the ancient knowledge and technology available as part of our heritage which can help us turn inward and reconnect with our higher self, if only we are prepared to give these practices the time, dedication and regularity that they demand. True transformation, like we discussed, is uncomfortable, especially when there is a convenient distraction lying in wait.

The wisdom lies in making a start when you’re riding a wave, rather than scrambling to find your balance when one has knocked you off balance and you’re gasping for breath. So take some time to dip your toes in the vast ocean that is our Vedic culture, seek a teacher that you can trust and initiate a practice which suits your disposition, be it reading the Bhagavad Gita, practising Kriya Yoga or meditation. These practices seek to deepen our containers and help us come face to face with the only truth that matters, one that is eternal and abides in the pervading silence within.