Alma Mater Values I understand everything has a limited life span.
One day, King Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He told the minister, “Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I give you six months to find it. It has magic powers. If a happy man looks at it, he would become sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he would become happy.” Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. One night he took a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant. “Have you, by any chance, heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?” asked Benaiah. The merchant took a plain gold ring and engraved something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. To everyone’s surprise, including the king, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, “Here it is, your
majesty!” As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweller had written in Hebrew, Gam zeh ya'avor, which means, “This too shall pass.”
There are many variations to this original story, but all of them communicate the same essence, “This too shall pass.” Everything, good or bad, success or failure, boom or doom, best of times or worst of times - everything shall pass.
Days have to sleep into nights and nights have to wake up to the days. Without the high and the low notations it won’t be music but just a mere monotone. Without the rise and fall there will be no dancing waves and without the waves there is no dynamism to the sea. How can you define a peak without a valley? The foreground is meaningful only in the context of a background. Without death there will be no value to life.
It is the eternal law of life - the law of impermanence - anything that begins will end. If it had a beginning, then it will have an end.
Did the day begin? Yes! Then the day will end. Did the year begin? Yes! Then the year will end. Did your relationship with him begin? Yes! Then it will end - either by parting with each other when life is still on, or through the death of one - either way it will end. Sooner or later is the only question. It will end is certain. We all have come into this planet with confirmed return tickets. The date is the only unknown factor to us.
Success is failure delayed. Failures are success delayed. Good times will be followed by recession and recession will be followed by great times. Every beginning will end and every end will result in a new beginning.
This isn’t a pessimistic view of life. In fact, it is the other way around. Because we know there is death, let us make the most of life. Because we know the day will end, let us make the day count. Because we know the year will end, even before the New Year arrives, let us do something significant to make 2009 memorable. Because we know our tough times too will end, let us endure it with strength and courage. Because we know the best of times too will end, let us be humble even in our success. Because we know every relationship will eventually end, let us give ourselves completely and unconditionally to our loved ones.
Above all, because we know even we will end, let us live such a life that we leave a legacy. Much after we are gone, our contributions and our creations should continue to live in this world and the world should continue to benefit from the life we lived, even much after we are physically gone.
: From " Alma Mater Values" Column of FROZEN THOUGHTS.http://www.almamater.com/ http://www.frozenthoughts.com/
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