instead of taking disciplinary action or delivering a tirade (not that he is known for doing this anyway), Pierre said quite calmly: “Erns, I know now is not the time for platitudes, but this too shall pass.”
This too shall pass. It’s a common saying, and yes, sometimes even a platitude, but Pierre’s words nevertheless resonated somewhere deep within me.
On my way back to my desk after this meeting, a quote from Dana Snyman on the wall caught my eye: “By travelling we not only discover this beautiful, awe-inspiring earth; we also discover our own humanity and that of other people. That is why I shall always be a traveller.”
I remembered that as a young child – I was probably seven or eight – I found a book in my father’s study called Light From Many Lamps.
It was one of those books with inspiring anecdotes from all over the world. The only one I remember very well was a story about a ruler in the Far East who had many worries and concerns. One day he presented his wise advisers with a challenge: come up with a universal phrase that will apply to all times and situations, good and bad. And, make the phrase short enough to be engraved on a ring.
The advisers puzzled over this for a long time and eventually came back to the king with the following words: “This, too, shall pass away.”
I googled “This too shall pass” when I was back at my desk. Several photos of people who had these words as tattoos came up. And further down the following:
This too shall pass.
Until then,
Fetch wood,
Carry water,
Walk the Earth.
Fetch wood. Carry water. Walk the Earth. I instantly appreciated the simplicity of this. And as far as “Walk the Earth” was concerned, only one word came to mind: Camino.
FIRST STEPS
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
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