The story of Wisdom and This too will pass

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them,

" Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstances, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?"

All wise men got puzzled by King's question. One answer for all question? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appeal to all of them. They went to king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he'll have to see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

After a few days, the neighbors attack the Kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of King's enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to fled on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in Jungle. He could hear many troops of horses were following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing in the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished…and he could not return because it was a small road…From back the sound of enemy's horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great.

The message was - " This too will pass."

The King read it . Again read it. Suddenly something strike in his mind- Yes ! it too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. A calm come on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forget about those following him. After a few minute he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path.

The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regain his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fan fare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself," I am one of the bravest and greatest King. It is not easy to defeat me.: With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him.

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He open it and read it again: "This too will pass"

He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

If this too is going to pass, it is not yours.
The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours.
You are just a watcher. Everything passes by

We are witness of all this. We are the perceiver. Life come and go. Happiness come and go. Sorrow come and go.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life. This too will pass. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent ? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away.

There were friends in past. They all have gone.
There are friends today. They too will go.
There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go.

There were enemies in past. They have gone.
There may be enemy in present. They too will go.
There will be new enemies tomorrow and......they too will go.

There is nothing permanent in this world. Every thing changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks , all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away. Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change. It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable ? It is nothing but your true self.

You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it.

Failures

Nothing in this world is more unpopular than failure. Personal failure, relationship failure, business failure, or any other kind of failure. People hate failure. Unfortunately, you and I are going to have some failures in life. They're inevitable.



The good news is ... failure can be good for us. As author and psychologist Dr. Bev Smallwood puts it, "Wrapped in unattractive, unlikely packaging are beautiful gifts. Failures contain gems of understanding and seeds of growth if you will look for them and receive them. Learning to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and begin again more wisely is priceless."



What Dr. Alan Zimmerman Has To Say About This:



1. Having a failure does not make you a failure.



Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita knew that. They had both failed in some way before they became business partners. Ibuka failed his exam for lifetime employment at Toshiba. Morita made an automatic rice cooker that burned the rice; so he only sold a hundred of them. But then they teamed up to build an inexpensive tape recorder, which they sold to Japanese schools. It was the beginning of the Sony Corporation.



Having a failure does not make you a failure UNLESS you start to think of yourself that way. If you start to think you're a messed-up, screwed-up failure, that's where you'll stay. As martial artist, actor and author Bruce Lee noted, "Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality." Cynthia Kersey re-affirmed that when she wrote "Unstoppable Women." She said, "Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe with you."





2. Failure is simply proof you're a part of the human race.



It's not a disgrace. After all, every human being has some failures. So don't get too bent out of shape when you experience some of them. You don't have to be perfect. In fact, you never will be. But that's okay. Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose-Driven Life," commented on that when he interviewed Barack Obama and John McCain before the 2008 presidential election. Warren said, "You don't have to be perfect to be used by God. You just have to be available."





3. Failure can be temporary.



It's a turn in the road, not the end of the road. It's a chapter in your life, not your entire life ... UNLESS you give up and quit. Bruce Lee went on to say, "To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth." He's right. If you take that approach to your failures, your failures will only be temporary.



Philip Knight took that approach. He tried to build a shoe company but ran into problems when his manufacturer wanted the majority ownership of his company. Knight refused. That left him without a product to sell. Once he got going again, a dock workers' strike and fluctuations in the Japanese currency almost put him out of business. But knowing that failures CAN be temporary, he marched on. Knight and his company survived. Today it is known around the world as Nike. Personally, I recommend Maya Angelou's attitude. Adopt it as your own. As she wrote in one of her great poems, "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."





4. The risk of failure PRECEEDS all worthwhile achievements.



If you take a risk trying to do something worthwhile, and if you fail in the process of trying, you're not a disgrace. You're an inspiration. In fact, there's nothing more inspiring than the failure of a person you admire. But it's good to remember that the failure didn't make them great; it was their ability to overcome it that made them great. Henry Ford taught us that. His first business, called the Detroit Automobile Company, failed within two years due to partnership disputes. His second automobile company also failed. It was only on his third try that he succeeded with the Ford Motor Company.



Do not live your life like so many people do, living your life on the sidelines, refusing to take any risks, and then regretting what you should have done but never did.





5. Failure is only a step on your journey to success.



IF you learn from your failure. IF you learn where the pitfalls are. IF you learn how to avoid them. IF you learn how to do things better the next time around. IF you learn how to squeeze all the learnings out of your failures, they're really a blessing in disguise. That's what Rick Rosenfeld and Larry Flax did. They wrote a screenplay they couldn't sell, started an Italian restaurant that went bankrupt, and launched a mobile skateboard park that didn't make it. It wasn't until they analyzed all their failures, picked out the learnings, and started to sell gourmet pizzas that success came their way. They called their business the California Pizza Kitchen.



When you get right down to the bottom line, failure is either a blessing or a curse. It all depends on how you respond to it. Make it a blessing by applying these five lessons.