Perspective

By Jeevan Thiyagarajan

Have you ever heard the phrase, “take some weight off your shoulders”? Well, if you have, forget about it! The weight isn’t actually on your shoulders, it’s all crammed in a box inside your head. The box is filled with many worries and every single person in the entire world has a box like this inside their head. Just one small setback and out come all the questions – what if this goes wrong? What if I make a wrong choice? And the list goes on. But for now, let us leave the box where it is – we will get back to it a little later.

Imagine that you are on a mission to find your best friend’s house but sadly you are not sure of the door number! At first, you may go down a wrong road, or even get lost, but you can always turn back and learn from the path you just crossed. If you keep on trying, you will find that house in the end! Similarly, in life too, as a wise man once said, “the path to our destination, is not always a straight one”. What matters most is that there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths and that you should never give up!

Maybe a story might explain this better! 

There was once an ancient king who was prone to making bad decisions both when he was extremely happy or when he was in great despair. One of the king’s wise advisors wanted to help him. So, he created a ring for him, a device that would stop him from getting lost in his high and low moments. 

 The king asked his advisor, “How does this ring work?” To that the advisor replied, “Oh dear king, just wear this ring always. In your darkest times, it will show you the answer and you will know what to do.” 

Soon after, a horseman rode in and demanded to speak to the King. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! The kingdom is surrounded. We’re under attack!” The King and all his men fought for a long time but unfortunately, they were defeated. The king fled the battle leaving everything he ever had behind. Everything seemed dark and hopeless for the king – what more did he have to lose?  Just then the ring started shining and caught his attention. Engraved on the ring were four words: “This too shall pass.” “What?!” thought the king, “How can this become OK? I have lost everything! Why should I live?”

However, as fate would have it, a nearby tribe recognised the king and took him home to a comfortable life. The king found new hope and courage and came up with a new plan. Soon, the king was ready to challenge the enemy with the tribal men and they won back the kingdom. 

The King returned to his city and threw a massive celebration. He was in great joy. He once again met his trusted advisor who seemed to be in a hurry. He hastily uttered the words “Oh dear king, I forgot to mention that the ring helps not only in times of despair, but also in times of great joy.” The King looked at the ring and it was once again shining with the same four words “This too shall pass”. The King laughed, “What could possibly go wrong? I have everything I ever wanted”, and continued partying. However, soon there were riots everywhere in the kingdom and the king was finally overthrown. 

The moral of this story is: Life does not always go exactly as we planned – problems will come but they surely will go. The greatest challenge is to realise that we cannot change our situation but always embrace the inconvenience with a growth mindset!

So, the next time, whatever problem comes your way, remember this box of worries and questions that sits in our minds and that you should never open it! Whenever you are in a bad situation, I hope you are reminded of this story and the wise words ‘this too shall pass’ and pass it definitely will!