That too has passed
Explore the profound reality behind the popular adage “This too shall pass.” Delve into a philosophical reinterpretation, uncovering the truth that “That too has passed.” Discover how this subtle shift in perspective offers deeper solace and aligns with the impermanence of life’s moments.
In the mosaic of our existence, each fragment represents a fleeting moment, contributing to the grand design of our lives. The expression “This too shall pass” offers a poignant reminder amid life’s flux, serving as a beacon of hope and resilience. It whispers a promise of transience to the weary heart, a balm for the soul in distress. As the sands of wisdom shift beneath the ever-turning wheel of contemplation, a revelation arises. The truth, more accurate and profound, should be uttered thus: “That too has passed”. Let us see why and how.
When one encounters the words “this too shall pass,” they are meant to be an assurance, a gentle reminder of the impermanence of all things. This phrase says a suffering, or a hardship shall come to an end. Conversely, if ‘this’ points to joy, happiness, or peace, it offers a false assurance that these positive states will endure for a finite time into the future, a notion that can be shattered at any instant by the vicissitudes of life.
Does this reflect reality?
“This”: often refers to something in the present or something that is immediate, or close. If we try to see deeper, we see that the concept of ‘This’ is actually a myth that does not exist – whatever it points to are dead and gone for ever. It would not be unjustified to say that we are experiencing the past all the time, our perception is not able to catch up with the reality as there is space between the happening or being and the act of perception. Example: the situation this phrase seeks to console or celebrate and the very act of reading and understanding the phrase itself are separated, they cannot happen simultaneously. The “information” must travel from “This” to the experiencer, before it is perceived. The more the space, the more the separation of “This” to reality. A distant star, now blinking, may have been dead eons ago. Some words being spoken have risen certain emotion, which is tied to the words, but the speaker, while saying, listening to himself or herself, or for other reasons, is not the same but transforming all the time. So, the emotional experience suffers a lag with reality.
In other words, the act of detection and the state of the object or subject being detected cannot exist simultaneously, but the former always follows the latter.
The human mind, a delicate instrument, can only focus on one thought at a time. As it turns its gaze to the present contemplation of the phrase, the past event it seeks to allay or cherish has already drifted away, at that very moment, like a leaf carried on the currents of a ceaseless river. There is no way of catching “this”, no way to hold on to it – the moment it is experienced, it is born, and it is dead at the same instance of time.
“Shall”: indicates a point of time in the future, may be near, and may be far – we do not know. The only thing we know is that it is a finite time. A picture in the mind emerges that the situation or condition is there to stay for some time. Is that the reality? Is every moment same or different? If they are different, whatever one experienced presently is already in the past, because it happened first and then experienced. There is no way to continue exactly the same experience in the next moment or for some time.
A little rephrasing the enormously popular saying, may capture reality better. ‘That’ often insinuates the past and we find ourselves as observers from the vantage position, watching the reality of the flow of life.
The phrase “that too has passed” can thus be a testament to resilience, a reminder that the traumas which once seemed like the end of the world are now part of a past survived, inevitably and automatically. This inevitability protects oneself every moment by not allowing to get caught up or stuck to an instant.
In the end, this subtle shift in perspective offers a deeper solace. It teaches us we are experiencing what has happened in the past (‘that’), we persisted, without any doubt. As long as there is perception, we realize that it says, yes, you are past that.
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