This too shall pass.

She tells me that when I cry, when I think my heart cannot handle another crack, when I want to crawl under the covers and never come out, when all I want to do is just be left alone.

This too shall pass.

She tells me that when I writhe with disappointment. When I struggle to understand why I didn’t get whatever achievement I had pinned my self-worth onto.

This too shall pass.

She says it again when I want to pull out my hair because I’m frustrated with my lack of employment.

This too shall pass. 

She tells me that when it seemed like the whole world was Noah’s Ark, and I was left alone, bobbing in the ocean.

This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass.

It is and has always been one of my mother’s favorite sayings.

It was an echo, said over and over again when I was a child. And then as a teenager. It became a meditation that I adopted as my own when I became an adult.

It was always framed within the context of negativity, a reminder that the anger, the frustration, the despair, the sadness, the depression, and the hurt would eventually pass, that I shouldn’t let myself stay in that space for too long.

It’s a kernel of wisdom that has aged well.

It’s a constant reminder of how fleeting life can be—that things can change as swiftly and smoothly as you and I can breathe and blink. And it’s not worth living in the space of negativity for too long, for the moments of life, both good and bad, will always pass.

Life will keep moving forward. It will not wait for you to realize what’s happening around you or for you to embrace change. It will not slow down, no matter how politely you ask. It will not wait for you to catch your breath—it keeps going.

It always keeps going.

This too shall pass, this life that you were given. So let yourself be fully present in the moments of happiness. Let yourself feel the moments of joy. Remember to breathe when the unpleasantries come—remember that they too shall pass.