This Too Shall Pass
A shortie
Maybe because of this fraught moment
With its feeling of permanence
I have been thinking about
The this too shall pass thing.
My first encounter with it was probably
When I was in the hospital.
I was five and kids were dying.
I had no words for my feelings.
I recovered
We didn’t talk about any of it.
Life went on.
I channeled everything into wildness and creativity.
Then - and what I came here to share today -
When I was maybe thirteen or fourteen
I was in the kitchen with my mom.
She was kneeling down
To get something out of the cupboard.
My guess is a can of French cut string beans.
I was driving her crazy.
Maybe I was asking for permission for something.
I was always wanting to be allowed to do more life!
I was hungry for experience.
Who cared about beans.
So I don’t remember what it was
But I know for sure I was driving her crazy.
Because she looked up
And very calmly said
This too shall pass.
It is of course a big teaching.
One of the biggest.
And I appreciated and appreciate
My mom sharing it with me.
Not sure if she just knew it in her heart
Or if she heard it somewhere.
Her own mom passed down jewelry not wisdom.
And my mom didn’t have a therapist
Or spiritual counselor.
Or Insta Wisdom to fill in.
Maybe she’d read it in Ladies’ Home Journal?
But when she looked into my eyes
And said
This too shall pass
I was the this.
She meant me.
I was the thing that would pass.
I would die someday.
To be dramatic about it.
Of course there are less dramatic ways to interpret that.
I would change.
Her own feelings would change.
the world would change.
But that wasn’t how I heard it.
This too shall pass.
And so shall we.
And some of us will pass
Fighting for the freedom
To be or not to be a mom.
And all the other things
In the cabinet of freedom
We look into
And take pleasure on pulling out.
This too shall pass
And we have some say in how and why and when.
And some say in how we process the this.
And think about it.
We have the choice to be courageous.
And to decide what that means to us.
This too shall pass.
And we have the choice to see this as us.
We’re in it together.
Which is not how we felt six months ago.
That passed.
Infinitely Yours,
Beth